Internet Governance

Blogs

DNSSEC in Ghana: 99% Can Validate, But .gh Remains Unsigned

Ghana reports approximately 99% DNSSEC validation capability among measured users, yet its .gh domain remains unsigned, exposing a gap between resolver readiness and domain security that calls for coordinated deployment and operational planning.

Global Internet Infrastructure at NANOG 98: Growth, Ownership, and Sovereignty

Growing demand for international bandwidth is accelerating investment in submarine cables and satellite networks, while increasing ownership concentration among major technology companies raises questions about competition, infrastructure resilience and national sovereignty.

Who Still Governs Africa’s Internet Resources?

Cloud Innovation's reappearance in AFRINIC's Mauritian membership register raises questions about governance, judicial oversight and institutional independence. The author calls for transparent records, scrutiny of conflicts of interest and an orderly end to receivership.

Quad9’s Planned Departure From France Shows Why Internet Infrastructure Policy Needs a Wider Lens

Quad9's planned withdrawal from France over DNS blocking orders highlights the tension between copyright enforcement and Internet security, raising questions about whether infrastructure-level restrictions impose consequences beyond their intended targets.

ICANN’s New gTLD Round Draws 16 African Applications, 10 Controlled by a Chinese Business Network

A Seychelles company controlled by Lu Heng accounts for 10 of Africa's 16 new gTLD applications, linking ICANN's domain expansion to commercial interests and an ongoing dispute over AFRINIC's governance and IPv4 resources.

The Fight for a String: Understanding ICANN’s Objection Process in the 2026 New gTLD Application Round

ICANN's 2026 new gTLD objection process presents applicants and rights holders with four distinct mechanisms for challenging proposed strings, each carrying different legal standards, evidentiary requirements and consequences for delegation.

From Apps to Agents: How the 2026 New gTLD Strings Mirror a Changed Internet

ICANN's 2026 new gTLD applications reveal a shift toward AI agents, developer infrastructure and digital trust, with .agent replacing .app as the most contested string amid growing competition and persistent geographic disparities.

Who Checks the Models? The Case for UN Oversight of Frontier AI

As AI agents demonstrate increasingly autonomous behavior, Gabriel Accascina proposes a UN-led evaluation system modeled on WHO prequalification, using independent testing and government procurement incentives to strengthen international oversight of frontier AI.

Why Africa Keeps Relearning the Same Digital Lessons

Africa's digital transformation challenge is not a lack of strategies or research, but weak institutional learning that prevents governments from preserving project lessons, applying evidence and avoiding repeated failures across administrations and technology programs.

US AI Policy Applies Two Scales at Home and Abroad

The danger the White House dismisses at home has justified restricting frontier models abroad. Now, as Trump meets Xi Jinping, competing forces within his administration could determine who writes global AI rules and in what register.

Governance Theater: Why the gTLD Expansion Program Is a Lose-Lose Proposition

ICANN's gTLD expansion program is structured to collect fees regardless of outcomes, leaving brand, portfolio and single-string applicants bearing financial risk while accountability mechanisms offer little meaningful remedy when the process fails.

Two Years After His Arrest, Pavel Durov Wants to Run His Own Registry

Telegram says it has applied for .gram, potentially giving a billion users DNS addresses while putting its governance, abuse controls, legal exposure and infrastructure under scrutiny as ICANN prepares to reveal applications.

Caribbean-Born Niel Harper Joins ICANN Board, Sets Out Priorities in Q&A

Barbados-born cybersecurity specialist Niel Harper joins ICANN's board in October, aiming to strengthen Latin American and Caribbean participation, improve DNS security and abuse mitigation, and expand developing-economy access to the next gTLD round.

ICANN Accountability Without gTLD Remedies Is Just Documentation

Past gTLD disputes show applicants can win ICANN accountability rulings without obtaining the contested string, raising a critical question for 2026 applicants about whether expanded review mechanisms can deliver meaningful remedies.

When a Link Becomes a Border: The Quiet Geopolitics of Internet Access

A LinkedIn short-link anomaly in Iran reveals how sanctions, corporate compliance and geolocation controls can translate geopolitical boundaries into infrastructure-level restrictions, creating an Internet that remains globally connected while becoming functionally unequal.

News Briefs

ITU Receives New IPv6 and Internet Governance Proposals Ahead of November Conference

France Proposes One-Hour Social Media Removal Rule After Secret DNS-Blocking Plans

ICANN Names Three Independent Objectors to Review 2026 New gTLD Applications

RIPE NCC Freezes Internet Number Resources Under EU Sanctions, but Routing Remains Unaffected

Access Now Documents Years-Long Internet Shutdowns Across Conflict Regions

ICANN87 in Bali Puts DNS Abuse and New gTLD Implementation in Focus

Dutch Police Seize Italian Internet Provider’s Server at US Request

ICANN Board to Review New gTLD Round Milestones, Root Server Governance Ahead of ICANN87

ICANN Study Links 56% of Malicious Domains to Related Registrations

ICANN Comment Period Closes on Linking gTLDs With Alternative Naming Systems

Researchers Warn EU AI Rules Are Deepening Reliance on Big Tech

After the Close: What the 2026 gTLD Round Has Already Revealed

Community Networks Offer a Durable Route Across the Digital Divide

CENTR Warns Against Excessive Burdens in EU Cybersecurity Overhaul

Iran Begins Restoring Internet After Record 88-Day Blackout

Iran Threatens Subsea Internet Cables in the Strait of Hormuz

Inside Iran’s Shift From Internet Shutdowns to Tiered Connectivity

Internet Censorship Grows More Sophisticated, Warns OONI Co-Founder

DNS Censorship Report Warns of Rising Domain Suspensions

ICANN Opens New gTLD Applications for First Time Since 2012, With $227K Entry Fee and 27 Scripts

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Industry Updates

Registration Opens for the 2026 .US Town Hall Featuring Internet Policy Pioneer Karen Rose

i2Coalition Launches Solutions Strategy for an Open and Free Internet

Recommendations to Expedite the Next Round of Top-Level Domains

The IT & Tech Industry Badly Needs Female Reinforcement

eco Comments on European Commission Study on DNS Abuse

China’s Authorities Push to Accelerate IPv6 Adoption: Should Other Countries Take Note?

Afrinic’s IP Address Crisis Raises Red Flags for Entire African Internet’s Sustainability

Together for the Good of the Internet: eco Complaints Office Registers More Reports Than Ever Before

The New .AU Domain Licensing Rules and Their Impact

Afilias Joins Global Encryption Coalition to Promote Internet Security

i2Coalition and DNA Merger Creates North America’s Largest Internet Infrastructure Advocacy Group

Afilias Endorses Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace Final Report at Paris Peace Forum

Neustar and usTLD Stakeholder Council to Hold .US Town Hall Live Webcast

Afilias Thanks Desiree Miloshevic for 12 Years of Service to ISOC

Afilias Joins Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace

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