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July 2026

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Expressions of Interest: 2026 Round Independent Objectors - Issues Encountered and Next Steps
by Elisa Busetto July 1, 2026

July 1, 2026

Dear All, Please see below for information regarding the Call for Expression of Interest for Independent Objectors. Best, Elisa In March, the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) opened a Call for Expression of Interest (EOI) for Independent Objectors for the New Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) Program: 2026 Round.* During the process, some respondents’ ability to submit or receive communications were impacted as a result of unforeseen technical issues. These issues have been addressed. To ensure that no respondent is disadvantaged, ICANN has extended<https://www.icann.org/en/announcements/details/icann-extends-deadline-for-e…> the EOI submission window until all roles have been filled. In the interest of transparency, ICANN is sharing the details of the issues encountered: 1. When the dedicated mailbox was created to receive emails from interested parties, a configuration error prevented the dedicated mailbox from receiving emails from external senders. ICANN became aware of the issue when an interested party reported not receiving a response. The configuration was corrected immediately, but emails sent before the change could not be recovered. 2. ICANN’s Vendor Management team contacted previously interested parties and published an announcement<https://www.icann.org/en/announcements/details/icann-extends-deadline-for-e…> that the EOI submission deadline had been extended to 1 June 2026. 3. The submission portal inadvertently closed on 30 May 2026, 24 hours before the deadline. ICANN has not yet been able to identify the root cause, but the issue prevented several parties from submitting their EOI. 4. ICANN’s Vendor Management team contacted all bidders to notify them of the issue and provide an alternative way to submit their EOIs. ICANN recognizes that this EOI may have been frustrating for some respondents and apologizes for the inconvenience. Improvements have been put in place to prevent this from happening again. ICANN is committed to a transparent and predictable process. The New gTLD Program team remains dedicated to supporting respondents in the best way possible and welcomes feedback on ways to improve processes and the respondent experience. *The 2026 Round includes an objection process, which affords certain parties an opportunity to advance arguments against identified applications for new gTLDs on different grounds. Objections may also be filed by Independent Objectors, who do not act on behalf of any particular persons or entities, but solely in the best interests of the public global Internet users.

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