[NCSG-PC] Public comment on spec

Wed Jan 28 01:26:57 EET 2026

INTERNAL

Hi Farzy,

This looks great! Thanks for making this happen in record time.

Best,

Michaela

Michaela Nakayama Shapiro (she/her/hers)
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________________________________
From: NCSG-PC <ncsg-pc-bounces at lists.ncsg.is> on behalf of farzaneh badii via NCSG-PC <ncsg-pc at lists.ncsg.is>
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2026 3:23:11 PM
To: ncsg-pc <ncsg-pc at lists.ncsg.is>
Subject: Re: [NCSG-PC] Public comment on spec

Here is what our penholders have drafted: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hxr_WoU0tidEu6dgdZ0mbcgwEVrsIcYHud9ZgfeXui0/edit?usp=sharing

Submitting it in a few hours.

Farzaneh

On Tue, Jan 27, 2026 at 12:32 AM farzaneh badii <farzaneh.badii at gmail.com<mailto:farzaneh.badii at gmail.com>> wrote:
Hi

We are late but we have drafted a one paragraph which we need to submit tomorrow in response to a call for public comment on spec 14.
Yao has come up with an excellent system for NPOC which we can use.(have to check with him)
 If you have other comments let me know.

Specification 14 - Variant TLDs: Registrant Choice and Bundling Concerns
NCSG is concerned that Section 2.15’s mandatory bundling of variant second-level domain names across TLD Sets inadequately considers registrant autonomy in multilingual contexts. While we understand the technical rationale for preventing confusion through unified allocation, requiring that “all second-level domain names, and any allocatable variants thereof, under the TLD Set is either allocated to the same registrant, or else withheld for possible allocation only to that registrant” creates a forced bundling mechanism that could increase costs and reduce flexibility for community organizations, civil society groups, and individual registrants operating across multiple scripts and languages. This is particularly problematic for communities where different organizations may legitimately represent the same concept or entity in different linguistic or cultural contexts. We recommend that ICANN develop clearer guidance on how registrants can decline variant bundles they do not need, ensure pricing structures do not penalize those required to hold variants they have no use for, and consider whether exceptions should be available for demonstrated community need where different parties have legitimate claims to variants in different scripts. The specification should explicitly preserve registrant choice rather than defaulting to mandatory acquisition models that primarily serve registry operator administrative convenience.

Farzaneh
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