On 22 September 2024, the U.N. Summit of the Future adopted the Pact for the Future, including the Global Digital Compact (GDC). The Office of the U.N. Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology states that the vision of the GDC "refers to achieving the goal of 'an inclusive, open, sustainable, fair, safe and secure digital future for all'." This aligns with ICANN's mission to help ensure a stable, secure, and unified global Internet.
Call for Endorsement
The U.N. member states in Paragraph 66 of the GDC invite "international and regional organizations, the private sector, academia, the technical community and civil society groups to endorse the Compact and take active part in its implementation and follow-up." They "request the Secretary-General to put in place modalities for the voluntary endorsement of this Compact, and to make this information public and accessible from December 2024."
ICANN's Evaluation
ICANN is still evaluating the GDC endorsement and implementation by the U.N. At this stage, there appears to be a lack of coherence on several issues related to the concept of endorsement. Despite public town hall meetings organized by U.N. staff about the next steps, questions remain regarding whether the proposed endorsement of the Compact's principles and vision serves as the "modalities for the voluntary endorsement of this Compact," if there is a specific deadline for endorsement, how nongovernmental organizations will be involved in the implementation and follow-up of the GDC, and where the intersection lies between GDC implementation and the 20-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society outcomes.
We acknowledge that many of the principles in the GDC involve elements that ICANN already exemplifies. Many of ICANN's initiatives, including our multistakeholder community and governance model, exemplify the principles outlined in the GDC; for example:
-
ICANN's multistakeholder community reflects diverse members and sectors from around the world, who work together to shape policies that ensure that the Domain Name System (DNS) remains stable, secure, and interoperable (GDC Principles 8(a) and 8(k)).
-
ICANN's digital inclusivity programs aim to connect the next billion Internet users and enable meaningful access to the Internet (GDC Principles 8(b), 8(f), 8(j), and 8(l)).
-
The New Generic Top-Level Domain Program: Next Round fosters diversity, encourages competition, and enhances the usefulness of the DNS. The program provides new opportunities to the next billion people waiting for access to a more multilingual and inclusive Internet.
-
The Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) Program supports a more inclusive and multilingual Internet. Achieving digital inclusivity takes more than getting people online; it requires addressing unique barriers, such as geographical and linguistic diversity. This is where IDNs play a crucial role in breaking these barriers, enabling communities to access and engage with the Internet in their native scripts and languages.
-
The Universal Acceptance (UA) Program provides a gateway for the next billion Internet users. It ensures that all valid domain names and email addresses, regardless of script, language, or character length, work seamlessly across all Internet-enabled applications, devices, and systems. Without UA, many people remain excluded from key online services.
-
The Coalition for Digital Africa, led by ICANN, strengthens Internet infrastructure and promotes digital inclusivity across Africa. Through partnerships with regional organizations, governments, and technical communities, it expands access, enhances technical capacity, and supports DNS development, UA, and digital skills training to empower the next generation of Internet users.
-
- ICANN's DNS security capacity-building workshops provide technical training to Internet communities across the globe to encourage the adoption of security measures like Resource Public Key Infrastructure that help strengthen the Internet's infrastructure (GDC Principle 8(i)).
Since its inception, ICANN's mission has aligned with many of the principles outlined in the GDC, and we remain committed to supporting these goals in the future. However, we believe further clarity is needed on the questions raised above before we can consider endorsing the GDC. We look forward to the release of the GDC implementation map and modalities in 2025 to better understand the path forward.