IGF 2021 WS #174
Preserving the “phonebook of internet”: Tackling DNS Abuse

Organizer 1: Brian Cimbolic, Public Interest Registry
Organizer 2: Matt Marks, Public Interest Registry

Speaker 1: Rowena Schoo, Technical Community, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 2: Graeme Bunton, Technical Community, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 3: Manal Ismail, Government, African Group
Speaker 4: Elizabeth Behsudi, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 5: Jennifer Chung, Technical Community, Asia-Pacific Group

Moderator

Matt Marks, Technical Community, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

Online Moderator

Brian Cimbolic, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

Rapporteur

Matt Marks, Technical Community, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

Format

Round Table - U-shape - 60 Min

Policy Question(s)

Ensuring a safe digital space: How should governments, Internet businesses and other stakeholders protect citizens, including vulnerable citizens, against online exploitation and abuse?
International standards: How should international standards address the different requirements and preferences of governments and citizens in different countries?

- How the DNS works in practice and why a good understanding is crucial when considering options to address harm
- Current initiatives such as the DNS Abuse Institute that help support actors and encourage innovation in handling DNS issues
- Examples of multistakeholder cooperation to support Public Authorities and DNS operators in their common challenge: when is it appropriate to act at the DNS level to address technical and website content related abuse.

SDGs

9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure


Targets: The DNS is part of the technical layer of the internet, ensuring the safety, stability and trustworthiness of this layer is crucial for spurring on connectivity and innovation around the world.

Description:

The Domain Name System, as the “phonebook of the internet”, saves Internet users the burden of memorizing Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. Thanks to the DNS, information can be accessed online through domain names, for example nytimes.com or lemonde.fr.

DNS Operators (Registries and Registrars) receive orders and requests from a variety of sources, including law enforcement, rights holders and other entities, to take action to remediate online abuse via the DNS. While progress on DNS Abuse has been made across the industry, not all registries and registrars have the same level of resources or time available to combat DNS Abuse. There is also a need for education on the general functioning of the Internet and when action is appropriate to take action to address harm.

Expected Outcomes

- How the DNS works in practice and why a good understanding is crucial when considering options to address harm
- Current initiatives such as the DNS Abuse Institute that help support actors and encourage innovation in handling DNS issues
- Examples of multistakeholder cooperation to support Public Authorities and DNS operators in their common challenge: when is it appropriate to act at the DNS level to address technical and website content related abuse.

Speakers and moderators will participate in a prep call ahead of the workshops so that all speakers meet ahead of time to avoid repetitive remarks/statements. The online moderator will encourage participants to introduce themselves in the chat and contribute to questions such as Zoom polling. This will ensure participants are engaged and feel included. The onsite moderator will also allow time for Q&A and encourage participants to take the floor with video.

Online Participation



Usage of IGF Official Tool.