Beyond Expansion: What ICANN’s 2026 gTLD Round Reveals About Inclusion, Universal Acceptance, and End-User Security
Are we expanding the Internet’s namespace faster than our ability to make it accessible, inclusive, and trustworthy?
By Alfredo Calderón-Serrano
On 7 October 2026, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced a major milestone in the evolution of the Domain Name System (DNS): the publication of 1,615 applications for new generic top-level domains (gTLDs). The announcement marks the first major application round since 2012 and represents another opportunity to expand choice, encourage innovation, promote multilingualism, and create new digital identities.
Yet the numbers tell a more complicated story. Of the 1,615 applications, only 21 are for Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs). Just 16 applications originate from Africa and 11 from Latin America and the Caribbean. Meanwhile, North America and Europe account for almost 85% of all applications.
These results raise questions that extend beyond the commercial expansion of the DNS. Are we making meaningful progress toward a multilingual Internet? Is Universal Acceptance keeping pace with the introduction of new domain extensions? Are underserved communities gaining genuine opportunities to participate? And will this expansion improve security for the people who depend on the Internet every day? The answers should influence how we evaluate the success of the 2026 round.
The numbers reveal an uneven Internet
Figure 1: The 2026 gTLD applications reveal substantial geographical disparities, with North America and Europe dominating participation while Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean remain underrepresented.
ICANN’s Reveal Day statistics provide an important snapshot of participation in the new gTLD programme. The applications include:
1,615 total applications
333 brand applications
16 community-based applications
15 self-identified geographic name applications
51 applications submitted by Applicant Support Program participants
21 applications for IDNs
9 applications involving variants
The geographical distribution is particularly revealing. North America accounts for 864 applications, approximately 53.5% of the total. Europe follows with 506 applications, or 31.3%. Asia, Australia, and the Pacific account for 218 applications, approximately 13.5%.
Africa accounts for only 16 applications, while Latin America and the Caribbean account for 11. Together, these two regions represent approximately 1.7% of all applications. This geographical imbalance is significant. Although the application figures do not directly measure end-user demand, they reveal substantial differences in participation among organisations seeking to operate new top-level domains.
Operating a gTLD requires financial resources, technical expertise, legal capabilities, reliable infrastructure, and a sustainable business model. These requirements can present substantial barriers for applicants in developing economies and underserved communities.
ICANN’s Applicant Support Program (ASP) represents an important attempt to address some of these obstacles. The 51 applications submitted by supported applicants demonstrate that assistance mechanisms can facilitate participation. However, the existence of an assistance programme does not necessarily establish equitable access.
The relevant policy question is whether current support mechanisms address the broader conditions that prevent participation: limited institutional capacity, insufficient technical training, inadequate access to financing, and the difficulty of developing viable registry operations. For underserved communities, meaningful participation requires more than an opportunity to submit an application. It requires the capacity to maintain and benefit from a digital namespace over time.
IDNs: A multilingual ambition facing a difficult reality
One of the most striking findings is that only 21 applications, approximately 1.3% of the total, are for Internationalised Domain Names. This is particularly important for the readership of the IDN World Report.
IDNs allow people to use domain names in languages and scripts that extend beyond the traditional ASCII-based naming system. They are essential to creating an Internet that reflects the linguistic diversity of its users. The importance of IDNs goes beyond convenience. The ability to use one’s own language in digital identifiers contributes to cultural representation, accessibility, local economic participation, and digital inclusion.
ICANN’s September 2026 IDN Implementation and UA Adoption Report documented significant progress: by June 2026, 151 internationalised top-level domains representing 37 languages and 23 scripts had been delegated, with approximately 4.3 million registered IDNs at the second level. These developments demonstrate that the technical foundation for a multilingual Internet continues to evolve.
Nevertheless, the limited number of IDN applications in the 2026 round suggests that the expansion of multilingual naming opportunities remains modest relative to the broader commercial interest in new gTLDs. The nine variant applications are also important because variant management can support consistent user experiences across scripts. However, variants introduce technical and operational complexities that require careful coordination.
We should avoid interpreting the low number of IDN applications as proof that multilingual communities lack interest in native-script domains. Application numbers can also be affected by market conditions, financial barriers, limited awareness, technical readiness, and uncertainty about long-term adoption.
The central challenge is therefore not simply to make IDNs technically possible, but to make them commercially viable, operationally sustainable, and genuinely useful to their intended communities. An Internet that supports multiple languages at the DNS level, but fails to accommodate them in everyday applications, is not yet a fully multilingual Internet.
Universal Acceptance: The missing connection between availability and usability
Universal Acceptance (UA) is the principle that all valid domain names and email addresses, regardless of their length, script, or characters, should be accepted, validated, processed, stored, and displayed correctly by Internet-enabled systems. This principle is directly connected to the success of the new gTLD programme.
Consider a student using an internationalised email address to register for an online course. The address is technically valid, but the university’s learning management system rejects it. Consider a small business operating under a new domain extension. Its website functions correctly, but a payment platform does not recognise its email address. Or imagine a government service that prevents a citizen from creating an account because its registration form assumes that all domains use familiar Latin-character extensions.
These are not hypothetical technical categories. They illustrate the practical consequences of software that is not Universal Acceptance-ready. For the affected individual, the distinction between a valid domain and a functioning application is irrelevant. The service simply does not work.
The 2026 round makes this challenge more urgent. As additional domain extensions and internationalised identifiers become available, developers, service providers, educational institutions, governments, and businesses must ensure their systems support them correctly.
ICANN and the Universal Acceptance Steering Group have promoted awareness, training, testing, and technical implementation. These efforts are essential, but awareness alone is not sufficient. The next stage should prioritise measurable adoption.
This means evaluating actual compatibility across email systems, registration forms, identity-management services, mobile applications, educational platforms, and other widely used digital services. It also means addressing Universal Acceptance as an accessibility and consumer-protection issue, rather than treating it exclusively as a technical concern.
A domain name that exists but cannot be used reliably across online services offers limited practical value. The measure of success should not be how many new names the DNS can support, but how consistently Internet users can use those names without encountering unnecessary barriers.
Figure 2: Expanding the Internet namespace offers opportunities for multilingualism, innovation, and digital inclusion, but also requires stronger safeguards against DNS abuse, deceptive registrations, and software incompatibility.
Will the new gTLDs make Internet users more secure?
This question deserves particular attention. The introduction of new domain extensions can encourage innovation, improve the organisation of digital identities, and support distinctive online communities. Some brand-operated domains, for example, may offer opportunities to establish clearer naming practices under controlled registration environments.
However, a new domain extension does not automatically provide better security. Users may encounter unfamiliar domain endings that are difficult to distinguish from deceptive alternatives. Fraudsters can exploit similarities between names, register misleading domains, or use visually confusable characters to impersonate legitimate organisations.
Internationalised domain names introduce additional considerations because different scripts may contain characters that appear visually similar. These concerns do not mean that IDNs are inherently insecure. Such a conclusion would be technically inaccurate and could undermine the objective of linguistic inclusion. The challenge lies in preventing deceptive registrations, applying appropriate script and variant safeguards, and helping users recognise trustworthy online services.
ICANN has introduced important safeguards into the domain-name ecosystem. The amendments to its registry and registrar agreements that took effect in April 2024 strengthened contractual requirements relating to DNS abuse. They require appropriate action against well-evidenced instances of malware, botnets, phishing, pharming, and spam used to facilitate these threats. Registry operators must also undertake periodic technical analyses of DNS abuse and maintain relevant records.
These provisions provide a stronger contractual foundation for the operation of new gTLDs. However, the effectiveness of these measures will depend on enforcement, operational practices, accurate detection, and the ability to respond promptly to abuse without causing disproportionate harm to legitimate users.
Security must also extend beyond the technical operation of the DNS. An Internet user can be deceived by a fraudulent website operating under a technically valid domain, even if that domain resolves correctly and uses encrypted communications. The distinction between DNS integrity, DNS abuse mitigation, and broader online fraud is therefore essential. A secure DNS is necessary for a trustworthy Internet, but it is not sufficient to guarantee that users are protected against deception, identity theft, and other online harms.
The 2026 application statistics do not establish whether the new extensions will increase or decrease these risks. What they establish is the need to evaluate security outcomes throughout the implementation and operation of the new gTLDs.
An end-user perspective on the 2026 round
The new gTLD programme is often discussed in terms of applications, competition, registry operations, and technical coordination. These are important considerations, but they do not fully represent the interests of the billions of people who depend on the Internet without understanding or participating in the institutions that govern its infrastructure.
Most Internet users will never apply for a top-level domain. Many will never register a domain name. Nevertheless, they depend on the DNS every time they access educational resources, communicate with financial institutions, use healthcare services, conduct business, or interact with government platforms. Their interests should therefore be considered when evaluating the outcomes of the programme.
From this perspective, five priorities deserve particular attention.
1. Make Universal Acceptance a measurable indicator of success.
The introduction of new gTLDs should be accompanied by measurable improvements in application compatibility. ICANN, the Universal Acceptance Steering Group, technology vendors, and educational institutions should collaborate on transparent readiness assessments, particularly in services essential to everyday life.
2. Strengthen meaningful participation from underserved regions.
The limited application numbers from Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean should stimulate a review of whether existing support mechanisms adequately address barriers to participation. Financial assistance should be complemented by sustained technical training, institutional partnerships, business-development support, and opportunities for regional collaboration.
3. Advance multilingualism beyond the DNS.
The availability of IDNs must be accompanied by improvements in email internationalisation, software compatibility, digital identity systems, and locally relevant technical resources. Multilingual inclusion should be evaluated according to users’ ability to access services in their preferred languages and scripts.
4. Establish transparent indicators of security performance.
Security outcomes should be evaluated using evidence, including rates of malicious domain registrations, the prevalence of DNS abuse, the effectiveness of detection mechanisms, and the timeliness and proportionality of mitigation actions. Such evaluations should distinguish the responsibilities of registry operators, registrars, application providers, and other actors in the Internet ecosystem.
5. Incorporate end-user representation into programme evaluation.
The ICANN At-Large community, civil society organisations, consumer advocates, accessibility specialists, and representatives of underserved communities can contribute perspectives that are not always captured by registry performance indicators. Meaningful end-user participation should help identify risks involving digital exclusion, deceptive naming practices, language barriers, and accessibility.
These priorities should not be viewed as obstacles to innovation. Rather, they provide a framework for ensuring that innovation produces tangible benefits for Internet users.
The next phase offers an opportunity for accountability
Reveal Day represents the publication of applications, not their final approval or delegation. The current figures are preliminary and may change following the replacement-string period. ICANN has scheduled String Confirmation Day for 17 November 2026, followed by a Community Input and Objections Period extending through 16 March 2027.
This provides an opportunity for the multistakeholder community to examine applications and consider their potential implications. Beyond the formal evaluation process, the community should begin defining how the eventual success of the round will be measured:
Will the new extensions contribute to a more geographically diverse DNS ecosystem?
Will they improve linguistic representation?
Will applications and services become more Universal Acceptance-ready?
Will the implementation of new security obligations produce demonstrable improvements in DNS abuse mitigation?
And will ordinary Internet users experience greater accessibility, trust, and protection?
These questions require continuing research, transparent reporting, and engagement across the technical, commercial, academic, and civil society communities.
Are we on the right track?
The 2026 gTLD round represents an important opportunity for the evolution of the Internet. ICANN has established a structured process for expanding the namespace, introduced mechanisms to support qualified applicants, advanced IDN-related technical policies, and strengthened contractual requirements addressing DNS abuse. These initiatives provide a basis for progress.
However, the October 7 data also indicate that the global distribution of applications remains highly concentrated, IDN applications represent only a small fraction of the total, and participation from underserved regions is limited. The implications for end-user security remain uncertain.
New gTLDs may support more recognisable digital identities, new communities, and innovative services. They may also create additional opportunities for deception if the broader ecosystem does not maintain effective safeguards. There is therefore no sound basis for assuming that the expansion will automatically make Internet users safer.
We are on the right track in creating more possibilities for the DNS, but we have not yet demonstrated that those possibilities will translate into a more inclusive, accessible, and secure Internet. For the international IDN community, this distinction is particularly important. The future of multilingualism cannot be measured solely by how many scripts are supported or how many internationalised domain names are registered. It must also be measured by whether people can use those names without encountering discrimination through incompatible technologies.
Similarly, the success of the new gTLD programme should not be determined solely by the number of domains eventually delegated. It should be evaluated according to the benefits those domains deliver to the communities they are intended to serve.
The 2026 round offers an opportunity to move beyond expansion as the primary measure of progress. The real achievement will not be adding more names to the Internet. It will be ensuring that those names work for everyone, in every language, with accessibility, reliability, and security at the centre of the user experience.
References
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. (2024). 2024 global amendments to the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement and Base gTLD Registry Agreement. https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/global-amendment-2024-en
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. (2026). IDN implementation and UA adoption report 2026. https://www.icann.org/resources/files/1245707-2026-09-01-en
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. (2026, October 7). ICANN reveals 2026 round applications for new generic top-level domains. https://www.icann.org/en/announcements/details/icann-reveals-2026-round-applications-for-new-generic-top-level-domains-07-10-2026-en
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. (2026). New gTLD Program: 2026 round application statistics. https://newgtldprogram-aps.icann.org/statistics
Internationalised Domain Name World Report. (2026). Market report 2026. https://www.idnworldreport.eu/market-report-2026