ICANN urges ITU development conference to prioritise multilingual internet access and universal acceptance

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has submitted an information paper to the ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference 2025 (WTDC-25), calling for stronger international cooperation to achieve a multilingual and inclusive internet. The paper responds directly to the conference theme on universal, meaningful and affordable connectivity and focuses on the role of Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) and Universal Acceptance (UA) in expanding digital inclusion.

ICANN emphasises that enabling people to use the internet in their own languages is a core requirement for an inclusive digital environment. The submission recalls commitments made during the original World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and the Tunis Agenda, both of which recognised multilingualism as essential for broader participation in the information society. It also cites UNESCO’s work on reducing language barriers and the Global Digital Compact’s call for digital technologies accessible in diverse languages. According to ICANN, IDNs and multilingual email addresses are fundamental building blocks in this effort.

The paper reports substantial progress: more than 150 top-level domains are now available in 37 languages across 23 scripts, making it possible to register and use domain names entirely in local languages. Examples presented in the document include Thai and Japanese domain names showcased on page 2. Yet ICANN notes that Universal Acceptance remains a major obstacle. Many applications, email servers and software systems still cannot process domain names or email addresses in non-Latin scripts. Studies published in 2025 show that only 12.5 percent of popular global websites and 26.3 percent of tested email servers accept multilingual email addresses, preventing users from relying on local-language identities online.

To address these gaps, ICANN and its community have expanded outreach and capacity-building efforts. Since 2023, global UA Day events have been organised to raise awareness of UA requirements, with 59 events held across more than 50 countries in 2025. ICANN is also working with universities to incorporate UA curricula and convenes a UA Expert Working Group to produce technical implementation guidance. The submission stresses that better data is needed to measure progress and proposes developing new indicators to assess multilingual readiness across services.

The document outlines recommended actions for governments, including ensuring that e-government services are UA-ready, updating procurement requirements to include UA compliance and tracking metrics such as the number of multilingual domains registered under national country-code top-level domains. Governments are also encouraged to participate in UA Day and regional awareness efforts. ICANN notes examples of collaboration with UNESCO and the ITU, including a joint briefing for UN diplomats in early 2024 and engagement with the ITU’s Girls in ICT programme to promote local-language domain names among young women and girls.

International and regional organisations are also identified as key partners for expanding multilingual access. The submission highlights UNESCO–ICANN cooperation at major forums such as IGF 2025 and WSIS+20, as well as participation from ITU regional offices in UA Day initiatives. ICANN argues that bridging language barriers requires coordinated contributions from the technical community, governments, civil society and industry.

In closing, ICANN states that IDNs and Universal Acceptance are foundational to meaningful connectivity and global digital inclusion. While progress has been considerable, support across applications and services is still uneven. ICANN calls on ITU members to work collaboratively on awareness-raising, capacity-building and the development of multilingual readiness indicators to help bridge the digital divide and advance a more inclusive internet.