What is ICANN?

ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, is a nonprofit multistakeholder organization formed in 1998 to coordinate the technical management of the Internet's unique identifier systems. Its responsibilities include the administration of the DNS root zone, allocation of IP address blocks to regional registries, and management of protocol parameters through the IANA function. ICANN operates under a bottom-up policy development model with input from governments, businesses, technical experts, and civil society.

ICANN manages the root zone by approving changes to top-level domains (TLDs) and delegating their operation to registry operators. It also accredits domain name registrars, which sell domain registrations to the public. For generic TLDs (gTLDs) like .com and .org, ICANN ensures competition and consumer choice. For country-code TLDs (ccTLDs), it delegates policy and operational authority to local managers, subject to global coordination. The IANA function, which ICANN performs under a contract with the U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) until September 2016 when stewardship transitioned to the global community, handles the day-to-day allocation of IP addresses, assignment of autonomous system numbers, and maintenance of protocol registries.

ICANN sits at the top of the DNS hierarchy, owning the root zone file that lists all TLD delegations. It does not directly control content or domain registrations, but sets rules for registrars and registries. Its decisions are guided by bylaws, consensus policies, and a multistakeholder governance structure that includes the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC), and the Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC). ICANN remains the principal coordinator for the Internet's naming and addressing ecosystem, distinct from bodies like the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) that handle protocol standards.