Dear all,

Please find below the agenda for the 11 March 2026 GNSO Council meeting during ICANN85 at  13:15 IST (07:45 UTC) This will be posted on the agenda wiki page shortly.

Thank you.

Kind regards,

Terri

Policy Team Supporting the GNSO

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GNSO Council Agenda 11 March 2026

Please note that all documents referenced in the agenda have been gathered on a Wiki page for convenience and easier access: https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/x/AYBQJ. 

This agenda was established according to the GNSO Operating Procedures v3.5, updated on 15 March 2023.

For convenience:

• An excerpt of the ICANN Bylaws defining the voting thresholds is provided in Appendix 1 at the end of this agenda.
• An excerpt from the Council Operating Procedures defining the absentee voting procedures is provided in Appendix 2 at the end of this agenda.

 GNSO Council meeting on Wednesday, 11 March 2026 at 13:15 local time (07:45 UTC): https://tinyurl.com/rmxrkwwz

12:45 Los Angeles; 03:45 Washington DC; 07:45 London; 08:45 Paris; 10:45 Moscow; 18:45 Melbourne

GNSO Council Meeting Remote Participation: (posted to ICANN85 Schedule 24 hours in advance)

Councilors should notify the GNSO Secretariat in advance if they will not be able to attend and/or need a dial out call.

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Item 1: Administrative Matters (5 minutes)

1.1 - Roll Call

1.2 - Updates to Statements of Interest

1.3 - Review / Amend Agenda

1.4 - Note the status of minutes for the previous Council meetings per the GNSO Operating Procedures: 

Minutes of the GNSO Council Meeting on 15 January 2026 were posted on 31 January 2026.

Minutes of the GNSO Council Meeting on 12 February 2026 were posted on 03 March 2026.

Item 2: Opening Remarks / Review of Projects & Action List (5 minutes)

2.1 - Review focus areas and provide updates on specific key themes / topics, to include review of Projects List and Action Item List. 

Item 3: Consent Agenda (5 minutes) 

• Confirm DNS Abuse Mitigation PDP 1 Working Group Chair: Paul McGrady

Item 4: COUNCIL UPDATE - Celebrating GNSO Accomplishments since ICANN84 (5 minutes) 

During its Strategic Planning Session in January 2025, the GNSO Council discussed ideas for highlighting the work of the GNSO to a larger audience. As a starting point, Councilors agreed to highlight the GNSO Council’s accomplishments or milestones between each ICANN meeting during the Council’s public meeting. 

In the period between ICANN84 and ICANN85, the Council and the groups under its remit accomplished the following milestones:

1. Latin Script Diacritics PDP - Published its Initial Report in January 2026, ahead of schedule, and is currently reviewing public comments prior to publishing its Final Report.
2. DNS Abuse - GNSO Council voted to initiate two PDPs on DNS Abuse Mitigation (PDP 1 and PDP 2), and PDP 1 began meeting here at ICANN85. 
3. Standing Committee for Continuous Improvements - Completed its Final Report for the Implementation of the Policy Status Report on Policy and Implementation, and the Council voted to accept the recommendations. 
4. Registration Data Request Service Standing Committee (“RDRS SC”) - Published its Updated Findings Report and submitted it to the Council. The Council reviewed and engaged in a dialogue with the ICANN Board to discuss the next steps for SSAD recommendations, based on the Standing Committee’s Recommendation. The Council is preparing  additional work on SSAD recommendations after ICANN85.

Here, the Council will have a chance to reflect on the progress it has made since ICANN84.

4.1 - Introduction of Topic (Susan Payne, GNSO Chair) 

4.2 - Council Discussion

4.3 - Next Steps

Item 5: Council Discussion - Update on Proposed Propose to Un-Adopt Approved GNSO Policy Recommendations (20 minutes)

In November 2025, the GNSO Council published a proposed process to enable the ICANN Board to reconsider a previously adopted policy recommendation from the GNSO for public comment. The proposal is based on the identification of a procedural gap, specifically the lack of a defined process for the Board to reconsider a previously Board-adopted (but non-implemented) GNSO policy recommendation. The process is proposed to be contained in updates to the GNSO Operating Procedures, specifically updates to the Policy Development Process (PDP) Manual and the GNSO Guidance Process (GGP) Manual. 

Based on the public comments received, GNSO Support Staff proposed updated text for the PDP and GGP Manuals was circulated to the Council to address public comments and endeavors to strike the right balance of necessary flexibility and appropriate guardrails. 

Here, the Council will discuss the updated text and agree on next steps.

5.1 - Introduction of Topic (Jennifer Chung, GNSO Council Vice-Chair) 

5.2 - Council Discussion

5.3 - Next Steps

Item 6: Council Update - Next Steps for SSAD Recommendations (10 minutes)

In June 2023, the GNSO Council tasked a dedicated Standing Committee to review the Registration Data Request Service (RDRS) and provide recommendations to the Council regarding, among others, lessons learned from the RDRS pilot and suggestions on a proposed recommendation for the next steps for the Standardized System for Access/Disclosure (SSAD) recommendations. 

As part of its recommendations to the Council, 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.” 

The Council discussed this approach during its January meeting and during its Strategic Planning Session and agreed to the Standing Committee’s recommendation, i.e., use of the Supplemental Recommendations procedure. Additionally, the Council discussed this recommendation with members of the ICANN Board Caucus on Data Protection/Privacy during its meeting on 12 February. 

Here, the Council will provide a short update on the recent dialogue with the ICANN Board, anticipated Board action at ICANN85, and discuss what can be expected at the upcoming session on GNSO Discussion on Next Steps for SSAD Recommendations.

6.1 - Introduction of Topic (Susan Payne, GNSO Chair) 

6.2 - Council Discussion

6.3 - Next Steps

Item 7: Recap of Outcomes from the GNSO Strategic Planning Session (20 minutes) 

Beginning in 2018, the GNSO Council has held an annual Strategic Planning Session (SPS). The SPS is the Council’s dedicated meeting designed to (i) understand and review the GNSO’s portfolio of work for the coming year, (ii) align on the GNSO’s work priorities for the coming year, (iii) consider whether the GNSO Council has the correct resources and tools to conduct its work as manager of the PDP efficiently, effectively, and comprehensively, and (iv) discuss how to best prepare for emerging and upcoming challenges the Council could face in the coming year and beyond. This year’s SPS was held in Barcelona, Spain on 20-21 January 2025.

Here, the Council will review the outcomes of the SPS and discuss next steps. 

7.1 - Introduction of Topic (Susan Payne, GNSO Chair) 

7.2 - Council Discussion

7.3 - Next Steps

Item 8: Proposed GNSO Prioritization Methodology (20 minutes)

During the GNSO Council’s second Working Session at ICANN82, the Council discussed its immediate and longer term pipeline of work, including work that the Council has previously committed to, e.g. Latin Diacritics, RPMs Phase 2, and a list of potential topics the GNSO Council could consider for future PDPs.

At the time, the Council suggested that “level of effort” be integrated into the prioritization document, to help provide important context for the prioritization exercise. An updated prioritization document was shared with Council on 05 September 2025. Following the Council’s September meeting, Councilors were asked to share the updated prioritization document with their respective groups for further feedback and guidance.

The Council further discussed this topic during its recent Strategic Planning Session. During that session, the Council agreed that its current priorities include DNS abuse, and next steps for SSAD recommendations. Councilors also noted the current Action Decision Radar is an appropriate tool to assist in objectively assessing future decisions, provided there are built-in flexibility principles as new issues emerge. However, the Council also agreed that the ADR could coexist with a Council prioritization framework, as they serve different functions and accomplish separate things. The Council requested GNSO Support Staff to update the prioritization documents based on this discussion. A further updated prioritization document was shared with the Council, which supported the Council’s discussion during its February meeting. There, the Council agreed that it wished to pursue options to be able to prioritize its work in the future, and a briefing document has been prepared which sets out various potential mechanisms Council might use in order to prioritise its work, for consideration and discussion.

Here, the Council will have a chance to discuss and provide feedback on the updated documentation.  

8.1 - Introduction of Topic (Jennifer Chung, GNSO Council Vice-Chair) 

8.2 - Council Discussion

8.3 - Next Steps

Item 9: Follow-up on Accuracy Small Team Recommendation (15 minutes)

In 2024, the Council discussed the limitations of both the Accuracy Scoping Team’s recommendations and the options proposed by ICANN org, and the Council noted the complexities around this topic. The Council also noted the importance of the topic to the ICANN community, and in an effort to make progress, Council Leadership proposed a new assignment to seek feedback from SG/Cs on how to best move forward in light of the limitations in accessing data for the purposes of measuring accuracy levels.

The Council Accuracy Small Team reviewed the feedback to the Council’s assignment and proposed recommendations for the Council’s consideration. 

Recommendation 3 provides, “The Council Accuracy Small Team recommends the creation of clear and user-friendly educational materials 3 that could be provided before, during, and after domain name registration to assist registrants in understanding (i) the importance of providing and maintaining accurate registration data through the lifecycle of their domain name(s), (ii) how their personal data is processed and protected, and (iii) the consequences of providing inaccurate data or not verifying email/phone under the required timeline. The Small Team does not prescribe how these materials are created, but recommends assembling a diverse and representative group of interested stakeholders to work together on developing the recommended content for the materials.”

At the request of the Registrar Stakeholder Group, ICANN org produced a one-page document to highlight the importance of maintaining accurate registration data for registrants that registrars, registrants, and the community can reference.  GNSO Support Staff sent the document to the Council List to gather feedback regarding if this is a helpful starting point for implementing Recommendation 3.

Here, the Council will discuss next steps for Recommendation 3.

9.1 - Introduction of Topic (Susan Payne, GNSO Chair) 

9.2 - Council Discussion

9.3 - Next Steps

Item 10: Open Mic (10 minutes)

Here, interested individuals may use this time to address the GNSO Council directly with comments, ideas, and feedback. Comments may be provided virtually via the Zoom room or via the microphone in the meeting room.

10.1 - Introduction of Topic - Susan Payne

10.2 - Open Mic

10.1 - GNSO Chair Election Timeline Announcement

Item 11: Any other business (5 minutes)

11.1 - GNSO Chair Election Timeline Announcement

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Appendix 1: GNSO Council Voting Thresholds (ICANN Bylaws, Article 11, Section 11.3(i))

See https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/governance/bylaws-en/#article11.

Appendix 2: GNSO Council Absentee Voting Procedures (GNSO Operating Procedures, Section 4.4)

See https://gnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/file/field-file-attach/op-procedures-15mar23-en.pdf