Dear all, Here is my report for the GNSO Council meeting held on 11 March 2026 during ICANN85. *Summary Report to the ALAC on GNSO Council Meeting #03 held on 11 March 2026 during ICANN85 <https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/atlarge/pages/722010207/GN...> *(click on 'Report to the ALAC' tab) For brevity, I will just highlight outcomes on key issues here. You may get more information under the Matters of Interest and/or Meeting Records tabs. *1. Consent Agenda* - Paul McGrady was confirmed as the Chair of the GNSO DNS Abuse PDP 1 Working Group on Associated Domain Checks. *2. System for Standardized Access/Disclosure (SSAD) Recommendations - Next Steps* - The SSAD is a system proposed to centrally handle requests for non-public registration data, envisioned in Recommendations 1-18 of the Final Report <https://gnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/file/field-file-attach/epdp-phase...> of the GNSO Expedited Policy Development Process (EPDP) on the Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data Phase 2 (of October 2020). - Simply put, these Recommendations 1-18 remain pending with the ICANN Board, due mainly to feasibility concerns, and the Registration Data Request Service (RDRS) was instead implemented as a temporary solution. - Council had tasked its Registration Data Request Service (RDRS) Standing Committee to analyze the data collected on the RDRS, and in particular, the RDRS Standing Committee’s Assignment #4 was to make suggestions to Council for a proposed recommendation(s) to the ICANN Board in relation to the consideration of those SSAD recommendations. - The Standing Committee produced Recommendation 5, which provides, in part, “*the SC recommends that the Board should consider the 18 recommendations together as one package. The SC further recommends that when the GNSO Council and ICANN Board engage in a dialogue, the Council should recommend that the ICANN board reject the SSAD recommendations (as a package) and send them back to the GNSO Council for further action and Supplemental Recommendation.*” - After having accepted <https://gnso.icann.org/en/council/resolutions/2020-current#202512> the RDRS Standing Committee updated Findings Report <https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/x/PjLlBg>, Council took next steps to address the Standing Committee’s Recommendation 5 – which in brief, was to recommend that ICANN Board reject EPDP Phase 2 Recommendations 1-18 as a package, to trigger the GNSO Supplemental Recommendation process. Council had discussed this with ICANN Board Liaison Wes Hardaker and Board Member Greg DiBiase to move it forward. - The Board undertook <https://www.icann.org/en/board-activities-and-meetings/materials/approved-re...> this action to not adopt these Recommendations 1-18 at its meeting on 12 March 2026, and the Board Chair wrote <https://itp.cdn.icann.org/en/files/correspondence/sinha-to-payne-18-03-2026-...> to the GNSO Chair on this action. - Council will now deal with the mechanism for handling the Supplemental Recommendation process. Some councilors were of the opinion that this process should be kept at Council level, while others prefer the use of a small team plus to address inclusivity for the work. - The ALAC should consider identifying a representative (and possibly, an alternate) to participate in or contribute this Supplemental Recommendation process work. - On a related issue - of Urgent Requests - there was agreement for including the period of “24 hours” into the EPDP Phase 1 Recommendation 18 text as a matter of implementation, and to avoid asking the Board to reverse adopt this recommendation, in order to not halt or further delay its implementation. Implementation will be tied to the ongoing work on authentication of LEA requestors as well as the Supplemental Recommendation process for EPDP Phase 2 Recommendations 1-18. *3. Proposed GNSO Process for Board to Reverse Adoption of GNSO Policy Recommendations* - Council considered the input <https://itp.cdn.icann.org/en/files/generic-names-supporting-organization-cou...> from the recent Public Comment Proceeding and will work towards finalization of updates to the Policy Development Process (PDP) Manual and the GNSO Guidance Process (GGP) Manual. - Based on the discussion during the meeting, I provided an additional suggestion (not inconsistent with AL-ALAC-ST-1125-01-00-EN <https://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/proceeding/proposed-gnso-process-for...>) for Council to consider adding text to encourage deeper Board rationale in exercising this exceptional mechanism. *4. GNSO Prioritization of Work* - Discussion on Council’s prioritization of work <https://gnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/policy/2025/draft/gnso-council-pr...> centered around what mechanism should be used to establish the “urgency” or ”ranking” of priorities. Discussion will continue. Thanks for reading / considering. *Justine Chew* ALAC Liaison to the GNSO GNSO Liaison Workspace <https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/x/15-wBQ> On Mon, 2 Mar 2026 at 11:32, Justine Chew <justine.chew.icann@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear all,
Please be informed that the agenda for the GNSO Council Meeting of March 2026 during ICANN85, is as follows.
It is a jam-packed agenda with lots of matters being proposed to move forward with.
*GNSO Council Meeting held on 11 March 2026 <https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/atlarge/pages/722010207/GNSO+Liaison+Report+-+2026#26-03-GNSO-COUNCIL-MEETING-%2303-(MAR-2026-at-ICANN85)>*
*Full Agenda* <https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/x/OAA7J>* | * *Documents* <https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/x/AYBQJ>* | * *Motions* <https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/x/pYAtJ>
-
*Item 1: Administrative Matters* -
1.1 - Roll Call -
1.2 - Updates to Statements of Interest -
1.3 - Review / Amend Agenda -
1.4 - Minutes -
Minutes <https://gnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/policy/2026/minutes/minutes-gnso-...> of the GNSO Council Meeting on 15 January 2026, posted 31 January 2026. -
Minutes <https://gnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/policy/2026/minutes/minutes-gnso-...> of the GNSO Council Meeting on 12 February 2026 were posted on 03 March 2026.* [updated the link]* -
Item 2: Opening Remarks / Review of Projects Action List -
2.1 - Review focus areas and provide updates on specific key themes / topics, to include review of Projects List <https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/x/ZAyfBg> and Action Item List <https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/x/ZAyfBg>. -
*Item 3: Consent Agenda* -
*Confirm DNS Abuse Mitigation PDP 1 Working Group Chair: Paul McGrady* -
*Item 4: COUNCIL UPDATE - Celebrating GNSO Accomplishments since ICANN84* -
*Item 5: Council Discussion - Update on Proposed Propose to Un-Adopt Approved GNSO Policy Recommendations* -
*Item 6: Council Update - Next Steps for SSAD Recommendations* -
*Item 7: Recap of Outcomes from the GNSO Strategic Planning Session* -
*Item 8: Proposed GNSO Prioritization Methodology* -
*Item 9: Follow-up on Accuracy Small Team Recommendation* -
*Item 10: Open Mic* -
Item 11: Any other business -
11.1 - GNSO Chair Election <https://gnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/file/field-file-attach/proposed-c...> Timeline Announcement
For more details on the marked agenda items, please visit *this link <https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/atlarge/pages/722010207/GNSO+Liaison+Report+-+2026#26-03-GNSO-COUNCIL-MEETING-%2303-(MAR-2026-at-ICANN85)>* and click on 'Matters of Interest'
This Council meeting will take place on *Wednesday, 11 March 2026 at 13:15 IST local time (07:45 UTC) for 2 hours *in Jasmine Hall 1B (GNSO Room), and is open to observers both on-site and remotely. Remote Participation is via Zoom, which link will be posted to the ICANN85 Schedule <https://icann85.sched.com/event/2GwmF/gnso-council-meeting> 24 hours in advance of the meeting.
Thanks for reading / considering.
*Justine Chew* ALAC Liaison to the GNSO GNSO Liaison Workspace <https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/x/15-wBQ> ------