10:30 IST (UTC+5.5), 11 March 2026
05:00 UTC, 11 March 2026
Lotus Ballroom 1 (GAC)
ID# 17886
Session DetailsTopic 1: DNS for Digital Identity (45 mins)This GAC Plenary Session is proposed by the host country GAC Delegation, under the umbrella of GAC Strategic Objective #7 Impact of New Technology on Internet Unique Identifier Systems: “The GAC will increase understanding and raise awareness of the challenges and opportunities of new technologies as they relate to the Internet’s unique identifier systems. To that end, the GAC will leverage the expertise in the ICANN Community, governments and beyond, to share information and consider potential implications, for the benefit of GAC members and all stakeholders”. The proposed session is expected to align with several of the Expected Outcomes for this Strategic Objectives in the GAC Annual Plan 2025/2026 including those related to Artificial Intelligence (7.2) Blockchains (7.4) and Cryptography (7.5). It also relates to DNS Abuse Mitigation (GAC Strategic Objective 4 and related Expected Outcomes).For more than four decades, the Domain Name System (DNS) has served as one of the Internet’s most trusted and resilient protocols, providing a globally interoperable framework for naming and resolution. While DNS was not designed as an identity system, its structure, cryptographic extensions, and operational maturity have increasingly positioned it as a foundational layer for digital trust. At the same time, emerging decentralized technologies are expanding the role of names, linking them to authentication, digital assets, and cross-platform identifiers, often outside established governance and security models.This session examines how DNS can evolve, without disruption, to function as a foundation for digital identity through a Universal Resolution approach that remains fully compatible with the existing DNS hierarchy by leveraging the DNS resolver logic. It explores how decentralized components such as distributed zone storage, blockchain based namespaces, machine-learning–driven abuse detection, and privacy-preserving cryptographic techniques (including zero knowledge proofs) can be integrated in a controlled, standards-aligned manner. The discussion will address practical considerations around security, accountability, and compliance requirements, including DNS Abuse Mitigation, offering a pragmatic blueprint for extending Internet naming while preserving the trust, stability, and global interoperability.
Topic 2: UDRP Review (45 mins)The objective of this GAC Plenary Session relate is to raise awareness of the recently completed review of the Uniform Dispute Resolution Procedure (UDRP) by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and discuss what next steps the GNSO is expected to take on this matter. In June 2022, the GAC noted in The Hague Communiqué that section 13.1 of the ICANN Bylaws encourages the ICANN Board and constituent bodies to seek advice from relevant public bodies with existing expertise that resides outside of ICANN to inform the policy process.
Session Leader: Robert Hoggarth
Staff Facilitator: Julia Charvolen
Session RecordingsZoom ArchiveEnglish audio archiveArchivo de audio en españolArchive audio en français中文音频存档Архив аудиозаписей на русском языкеأرشيف التسجيلات الصوتية باللغة العربيةArquivo de áudio em português
