Please note that the documents linked below related to the PDP are provided for informational purposes. Some documents are produced by the GNSO and others are not. To learn about the materials on the Active Project pages, please see this overview.
Background
The Latin script is a writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet and is most widely used in terms of the number of languages and speakers in the world (about 70% of the world's literate population). Diacritics are modifiers surrounding basic letter shapes, generally recognized as distinct graphic elements to form new letters. The main use of diacritics in the Latin script is to change the sound-values of the letters to which they are added. However, most domain names are registered in the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) characters, which is the most common character encoding format for text data on the internet. Hence, ASCII and Latin script internationalized domain name (IDN) generic top-level domain (gTLD) pairs, though visually similar may not be the same.
The GNSO Council was made aware of this potential issue, especially whereby future applied-for strings in the Latin script containing diacritics may be visually confusingly similar to ASCII strings, but are non-variants, and the same entity wishes to operate both strings. In light of this, the GNSO Council received a detailed briefing on this issue during the GNSO Council Meeting at ICANN78 in Hamburg on 25 October 2023 and agreed to request a study from ICANN org to help inform the GNSO Council on the issue of diacritics in Latin Script. Prior to the request being made to ICANN org, the org volunteered to investigate what mechanism or mechanisms might be appropriate to address this issue.
During the 18 April 2024 meeting, the GNSO Council agreed to request an Issue Report on diacritics in Latin script. On 06 May 2024, the request for an Issue Report was circulated to the Council mailing list. During these discussions the Council came to understand that a set of clear rules exists regarding the delegation of TLDs including diacritics, resulting from the considered work of the Latin LGR panel, and the Council sought to learn more concerning the rationale for those conclusions and the scope of authority of the LGR Panels and of the GNSO in considering these questions.
On 16 May 2024, the GNSO Council passed a motion, requesting ICANN's Policy Support Staff to draft a Preliminary Issue Report on Latin Script Diacritics. The objective of the Preliminary Issue Report was for ICANN org to assess all relevant issues related to the GNSO Council request, and following Community Input during the Public Comment phase, to recommend a course of action to the GNSO Council. The Preliminary Issue Report opened for Public Comment on 18 July 2024 and closed with 41 submissions on 27 August 2024, a summary of which can be found here.
Subsequently, the Final Issue Report, which was presented to the GNSO Council on 17 October 2024, focused on the limited circumstance when an ASCII gTLD and the Latin script diacritic version of the gTLD are not variants of each other AND may be found to be visually similar to each other. Based on this Report, a potential policy development process (PDP) were to consider a single issue: In circumstances where a base ASCII gTLD and the Latin script diacritic version of the gTLD are NOT variants of each other, what mechanism is needed in order to allow a single registry operator to simultaneously operate both gTLDs? The General Counsel of ICANN indicated that the topics recommended for review are properly within the scope of the ICANN policy process and the GNSO.
Consequently, the GNSO Council initiated a PDP for Latin Script Diacritics on 13 November 2024. The Final Issue Report included a draft charter prepared by ICANN org supporting the GNSO Council. This was later updated upon the initiation of a PDP and adopted on 19 December 2024.
See the latest update of current PDP efforts in the GNSO Policy Briefing here (TBD).
Status
Web Presence
- Wiki (TBD)
- WG email archive (TBD)
Responsible Staff Members
- Saewon Lee
- John Emery
- Steve Chan
Working Group Members & Leadership and GNSO Liaison
- See wiki membership page (TBD)
For the latest information and status on this project:
- See Project List
GNSO Council Request for Preliminary Issue Report
Adopted on: 16 May 2024
Summary: The GNSO Council adopts the request for an Issue Report and directs staff to create the Report.
Submitted on: 16 July 2024
- Preliminary Issue Report
- Public Comment (18 July 2024)
Final Issue Report
Submitted on: 12 September 2024
GNSO Resolution on the Initiation of the PDP:
Adopted on: 13 November 2024
Summary: The GNSO Council hereby initiates a PDP for Latin Script Diacritics.
Working Group Charter
Adopted on: 19 December 2024
Input from Supporting Organizations/Advisory Committees and GNSO Stakeholder Groups/Constituencies
- Input Received (TBD)
Working Group Initial Report
Submitted on: TBD
Working Group Draft Final Report
Submitted on: TBD
Working Group Final Report
Submitted on: TBD
GNSO Adoption of the Final Report
Adopted on: TBD
GNSO Council Report to the ICANN Board
Adopted on: TBD
Public Comment Prior to ICANN Board Consideration
Submitted on: TBD
Notification by the ICANN Board to the GAC to Request Input on Whether Policy Recommendations Raise Public Policy Issues
Submitted on: TBD
Board Paper
Submitted on: TBD
ICANN Board Resolution Text
Adopted on: TBD
Notice of Policy Actions
Adopted on: TBD
Implementation Details
- TBD