Policy and technical issues critical to ensuring a stable, secure and unified internet were the focus of discussions at ICANN85.
Held from March 7-12, ICANN85 was hosted by India’s National Internet Exchange Center at the Jio World Convention Center in Mumbai, bringing together thousands of internet governance experts from hundreds of countries.
The conference provided a unique platform for governments, private sector representatives, the technical community, academia and civil society to collaborate on key priorities, including:
- The next phase of the new gTLD program, with applications expected to open in 2026
- Advancing a multilingual internet
- Enhancing DNS security and combating misuse
- Strengthening the multistakeholder governance model
ICANN85 featured numerous working sessions, community discussions and policy consultations. The results of these discussions, along with the next steps for developing the global internet infrastructure, were presented at the ICANN85 Community Forum and Board meeting.
The conference’s importance is further highlighted in the context of the WSIS+20 review within the United Nations framework. The final document reaffirmed that the stability and open nature of the internet can only be maintained through a multistakeholder governance approach.
