Icann execs seek help with domain plans

The team running the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) has asked government agencies for assistance with future plans.

Chief executive Rod Beckstrom and board chairman Peter Dengate Thrush said that Icann would welcome continued involvement from government agencies in helping to balance out the need for security and privacy.

"Law enforcement has a lot of legitimate concerns, at the same time there are other civil rights groups out there advocating for privacy rights," Beckstrom explained.

"That is a very touchy and sensitive part of the negotiations."

Beckstrom advocated maintaining the multi-shareholder structure that the group has pushed in recent years.

"A multi-stakeholder model is fundamental to the internet's future, and that model is working," he said.

The executives said that Icann would not be launching an eagerly-anticipated round of new generic top-level domains (gTLD,) but will rather continue to meet with an advisory committee to iron out the details on the plan.

Beckstrom shot down talk that Icann was not paying proper attention to the recommendations of its governmental advisory committee (GAC.)

"It is about how we walk, not about how we talk," Beckstrom said.

"It is very clear that GAC is being taken seriously. That doesn't mean that individuals at times won't be critical."

One domain that could see action this week is the controversial .XXX domain. Thrush said that a vote on the adult domain would take place on Friday, noting that previous debates and votes on the matter have been "very interesting".