In May the CentralNic Registry team made our way to the hustle and bustle of Paris for the ICANN Contracted Parties Summit (CPS). The summit brought together gTLD registry operators and registrars to discuss everything from technical standards and challenges, to DNS abuse, to ongoing policy streams that were present at the broader ICANN meeting in Puerto Rico earlier this year.
As an industry we started the summit by celebrating the implementation of recent ICANN contract changes for both registry operators and registrars regarding the mitigation of DNS abuse and as the week progressed continued to discuss further ways to enhance tools and strategies to mitigate malicious activities within the DNS ecosystem. In fact, the newly renamed Netbeacon Institute organised an additional day of discussions dedicated solely to the detection and mitigation of DNS abuse on our platforms.
Conversations continued around the implementation of the new Registration Data Policy, which becomes effective in August 2025. This policy mandates changes in data handling and protection, transitioning from WHOIS to RDAP, and new contractual agreements between ICANN, registries, and registrars. Technical and Operational Sessions touched on topics such as registry transition processes, technical evaluations, and enhancements to the Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP). This included updates to service level requirements and reporting protocols to ensure compliance with new standards.
Overall, and in addition to the exciting networking opportunities these events always offer, we are grateful the ICANN Contracted Parties Summit (CPS) provided us with a chance to maximise collaborations with our industry partners as well as contribute to future policy implementations and technological advancements within the domain name industry.