ICANN Governmental Advisory Committee publishes Mumbai communiqué after ICANN85 meeting
Governments participating in ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee have released a c
The Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers published the Mumbai Communiqué on 16 March 2026 following discussions held during the ICANN85 Community Forum in Mumbai, India. The meeting took place from 7 to 12 March 2026 in a hybrid format and gathered 70 GAC member governments and nine observer organisations. ICANN85+Mumbai+GAC+Communiqué
The communiqué outlines key issues governments discussed with other parts of the ICANN community, including domain name registration data access, DNS abuse, internet infrastructure governance, and preparations for the next round of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs). ICANN85+Mumbai+GAC+Communiqué
One major focus of the discussions was access to domain registration data. Governments welcomed plans for a 24-hour response timeline for urgent requests from law enforcement seeking access to non-public registration data, while emphasising the need for authentication mechanisms to verify such requests. ICANN85+Mumbai+GAC+Communiqué
The committee also highlighted concerns about DNS abuse, such as malicious domain registrations used for fraud, phishing, or botnet operations. Members encouraged faster verification of registrant contact information and suggested creating a central reporting mechanism to track abuse complaints submitted to domain registrars and registries. ICANN85+Mumbai+GAC+Communiqué
Another important topic was the upcoming round of applications for new internet domain endings expected to open in April 2026. The communiqué notes that the Applicant Support Program has already received 75 applications from organisations across all five ICANN regions, reflecting strong global interest in expanding the domain name system. ICANN85+Mumbai+GAC+Communiqué
The document also reports on broader governance discussions, including cooperation with other internet governance bodies such as the Internet Engineering Task Force, ongoing work on the governance of Regional Internet Registries, and efforts to maintain the stability and resilience of the global DNS root server system. ICANN85+Mumbai+GAC+Communiqué
The communiqué serves as a summary of government perspectives within ICANN’s multistakeholder policy process and provides guidance for future work on issues affecting the operation and governance of the global internet infrastructure. ICANN85+Mumbai+GAC+Communiqué
The next GAC meeting is scheduled to take place during the ICANN86 Policy Forum in June 2026
