ICANN releases open data files for contractual compliance monthly metrics
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) began publishing downloadable open data files that provide direct access to the data behind its Contractual Compliance monthly reports. The move is intended to strengthen transparency and enable deeper analysis of how ICANN handles complaints and compliance activities.
On 15 January 2026, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced the launch of monthly Open Data Download files for its Contractual Compliance function. Starting with the September 2025 reporting cycle, ICANN is making the underlying data from its Contractual Compliance metrics available in a machine-readable format.
Contractual Compliance is the part of ICANN responsible for ensuring that registries and registrars reflect the obligations set out in their contracts, including how they handle domain name registrations and related services. Each month, ICANN publishes a dashboard and narrative report summarising compliance activity. Until now, these reports presented aggregated figures and visualisations without providing direct access to the raw data used to produce them.
Under the new approach, ICANN will publish a downloadable CSV file alongside each monthly dashboard and report. The first files, covering September, October and November 2025, are already available on the Contractual Compliance reports page. Each file contains the data used to generate the published charts and tables, including information on complaints received, how those complaints move through different processing stages, and how and why cases are closed.
According to ICANN, the release of these open data files is part of its broader commitment to transparency and accountability. By providing access to the raw datasets, the organisation aims to make it easier for community members, researchers and contracted parties to review and interpret Contractual Compliance activity in greater detail.
The open data format allows users to work directly with the information rather than relying solely on summary statistics. This enables customised reporting, trend analysis over time, integration with other datasets for research purposes, and the creation of independent visualisations. It also offers additional insight into how complaint-related activity evolves from month to month.
The September 2025 dataset marks the beginning of what ICANN describes as a recurring publication. Future monthly Open Data Download files will be added to the same location as new reporting cycles are completed. ICANN has encouraged stakeholders across the community to explore the data and use it as a resource in their own analytical and policy-related work.
