LOS ANGELES - The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced in a press release that it has opened a Request for Information (RFI) to better understand what may be commercially available in the marketplace to deliver some or all of the System for Standardized Access/Disclosure to Non-Public Registration Data (SSAD), including existing methods for identity verification.
Indications of interest are to be submitted by emailing SSAD-ODP-RFI@icann.org with the following information, upon which access will be provided to the RFI:
1. Name of the organization
2. Name of the contact
3. Email address of the contact
The RFI will be open until 19 July 2021 (23:59 UTC).
The SSAD is a proposed mechanism to handle requests for nonpublic gTLD registration data outlined in policy recommendations adopted by the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) Council last year. The RFI is being conducted by ICANN organization's (org) SSAD Operational Design Phase (ODP) team, which was created at the request of the ICANN Board in April 2021 to help inform the Board's deliberations on whether the SSAD-related recommendations are in the best interests of the ICANN community or ICANN.
ICANN org is looking for information from experts, organizations, and businesses familiar with the design and operational requirements outlined in the SSAD-related recommendations, and encourages submissions from a range of industries and backgrounds. The questions in the RFI are based on the ICANN Board's SSAD ODP Scoping Document and focus on:
• Methodologies used for identity verification regarding (but not limited to):
• Legal vs. natural persons
• Governmental entities
• Power of Attorney (or local equivalent)
• Range of costs related to identity and other verification services
• How identity verification services comply with applicable data protection laws
• Level of effort for system design, development, and operations
The information obtained through the RFI could shape ICANN org's proposal, the Operational Design Assessment, to the ICANN Board. If the Board adopts the SSAD recommendations, it may lead to a Request for Proposal (RFP) or contracting.
Any questions related to the RFI should be directed to SSAD-ODP-RFI@icann.org.