Consultations — have your say

This policy consultation sought feedback on proposed changes to the management of conflicted domain names in the .nz domain name space. 

Under our policy development policy, we must consult with anybody affected by the proposed change before making final policy decisions.

We invited feedback on any aspect of the proposal outlined in this consultation and on the specific questions (at the end of this page) that we’re particularly interested in receiving your views on.

Background of conflicted domain names

In 2014, we opened domain name registration directly at the ‘.nz.’ level. As a result of this change, some .nz domain names became conflicted. For example: 

jobloggs.net.nz is registered to one registrant

jobloggs.co.nz to another registrant

jobloggs.nz then became a conflicted domain name and we gave both registrants the right to register a preference to register the new shorter version of the domain name. 

More than 15,000 parties were initially involved in a ‘conflict’ regarding a .nz domain name. Involved parties were required to lodge their interest in a conflicted names database by October 2017.

Over time, the number of conflicted domain names has decreased to around 1,300. 

This decrease is due to: 

• A preference for the shorter domain name wasn’t registered by 2017 

• Parties have agreed on who should have it (and actioned a resolution through the preference database)

• A party in the conflict set has not renewed its domain name, leaving only one person in the set. When there is only one ‘claimant’ left, that person has two months to register the shorter domain name, or it will be released for general registration. 

In 2020, we commissioned an independent review of the .nz Rules. The .nz Advisory Review Panel was formed, and they sought the community’s views in an Options Paper, which included questions about the future management of conflicted domain names. The Panel noted that almost all submitters were in support of bringing the conflicted names process to an end and in their recommendations report they recommended ending the process and releasing the domain names.

In early 2024, we commenced a review and sent a survey to all affected parties to get their views on the process and change options. We also held two webinars with affected Government agencies; and a meeting with an affected iwi representative. A report of the Conflicted Domain Names Policy Review Survey results has been published. 

Proposed changes and the reasons why

Proposed approach 

Our proposed approach is that, after a notified final period of resolution, there will be general release to the market of the conflicted domain names with two exceptions.

A number of options were considered, and, on balance, this approach was favoured as the most appropriate. The InternetNZ Council has reviewed and approved it for consultation.

Proposed Schedule 4 of the .nz Rules — Transitional provisions ending Conflicted Names Process

The exceptions

The exceptions from general release are for conflicted domain names which are determined by an expert panel as inappropriate for general release due to security concerns or whose general release is determined as inconsistent with the .nz Principle ‘.nz should support te reo Māori me ōna tikanga and participation in .nz by Māori’. * 

The reason for this approach is that it takes into account:

• The interests of affected parties;
• Potential for harm to the community;
• Being consistent with the .nz Rules principles including that .nz should be open and accessible;
• Involves right-sized investment of resources to bring this process to a conclusion.

Our proposed approach to end the conflicted domain name process will be implemented by creating Schedule 4 to the .nz Rules.

*This Principle received support from the wider Internet community during the independent panel’s consultation process in 2020 and was adopted by the InternetNZ Council.  There is a statement attached to this Principle - ‘Note: this draft principle is to be discussed and will form part of the Māori engagement plan.’ No objections from Māori to the phrasing of this Principle have been received.

Detailed reasons

We have a duty to manage .nz in service of the local Internet community.  Factors in support of the proposed approach are:

• Consistency with the policy of first come, first served, which in the .nz context means that the starting point is that anyone can register a domain name in any of the spaces so long as it is not already registered.

• Release supports the .nz Principle of openness and accessibility and will free up a number of domain names for registration. 

• Continuing to offer the resolution process utilises resources that could be used to better effect, for example, doing more to manage DNS abuse.

• Resolutions are becoming more and more rare with only around five conflicted names now resolving per month. It’s likely that sets in which all parties are motivated to resolve have now reached agreement, and we will only see resolutions by cancellation in the future.

• Clarity of an end process may provide the incentive needed for other parties to resolve and will end the ‘nuisance’ factor for those who prefer to see this settled one way or the other.

• Regarding security concerns:

  • There are many thousands of the same or similar domain name strings at many 3rd levels and at the second level already. By definition, a conflicted domain name was the exact same string of a domain name held by, at least, two different domain name holders.

  • Many people didn’t take up the option to register their equivalent shorter domain name and yet the shorter equivalent domain names don’t appear disproportionately in current complaints to the Domain Name Commission. 

  • InternetNZ’s view is that the potential for harm (arising from domain name confusion) as a result of releasing these domains is not significant. The surveyed parties’ concerns raised about potential for confusion seem most likely to result in experiencing inconvenience rather than harm. For example, one likely result of mis-typing an email address is a bounce back and if wrong details are typed into an address bar (the 2nd level domain and not the 3rd) in most instances you would just arrive at the wrong destination. Unless an impersonation scam is operating there, there should be no significant harm caused. The Domain Name Commission has processes that should respond to most problems encountered.

Security exception

Some domain names within the conflict sets are associated with very famous technology brands and high-traffic public-facing government websites. Our view is that some of the domain names carry potential risks of harm due to impersonation. However, without knowing more about the use of the domain names and hearing from those with the most knowledge of that, it is not possible to assess the true risk.

Whilst the Domain Name Commission’s processes work well in most cases to respond to harm, they can take time to resolve issues. For this reason we consider that the risk linked to these small number of domain names may be significant. An exception allocating these domain names under a determination process seems to have merit. The details of that process are set out in Process A of the Proposed Schedule 4 of the .nz Rules. The determination process only applies to the conflicted domain names remaining after the final resolution period is over. 

Support Te Reo exception

In addition, release to the open market of domain names that include iwi names or Māori kupu / words of special significance might be considered a breach of the .nz Principle to support ‘te reo Māori me ōna tikanga’, or may offend against the .nz Principle of being responsive to .nz’s diverse environment. 

For this reason InternetNZ considers that a process should be designed to ensure that these names can be managed consistently with tikanga. This might involve blocking them, or allocating them to a party in the conflict set or some other party. The details of that Process are set out in Process B of the Proposed Schedule 4 of the .nz Rules. The determination process only applies to the conflicted domain names remaining after the final resolution period is over.

Experts and determination fee

Making determinations on exception applications requires a high level of expertise and InternetNZ will need to appoint independent experts to undertake the role. 

Where a party in the conflict set applies for determination a fee of $1,000 per application is proposed which will be used to offset the expenses of the panels. The panels will be made up of three expert members and the panels will also undertake a review of the final conflicted names list to self-identify any domain names for exception treatment if no application is made.

Timeline

30 October to 27 November 2024: Public consultation on proposed changes is open.

 

If the approach remains unchanged following the consultation feedback, our proposed timeline is:

14 February 2025:  InternetNZ Council meeting where the final decision, in light of submissions is taken.

3 June 2025: Final resolution date — this must be at least 4 months from when the Council notifies the affected parties of its decision. On the final resolution date, the opportunity for parties to reach a resolution through agreement or by changing their preference will end.* On the final resolution date, the ability for resolution by anyone being the last man standing also ends.

5 August 2025: People who have resolved their conflict prior to 3 June 2025 must register the shorter domain name by 5 August 2025.**  From 5 August 2025 the final list of conflicted names is crystallised and not subject to further change, other than if determination on a particular name is sought.

5 August to 30 September 2025: A process for applying for determination is open under an exceptions to release process. The proposed application fee is $1,000 per conflicted domain name.

After 30 September 2025: Domain names where determination on a name is not sought, can be released by the Registry. As determinations are made, the relevant domain names will be released, blocked or allocated according to the outcome.

 

*This includes resolutions that result from an agreement between the parties, or last person standing resolutions (this is where only one domain name is left in the contest because the others have been deleted from the zone (lapsed registrations).

**If the person does not register by 5 August the name reverses back into the unresolved list.

Consultation questions

1. Do you agree that the recommended approach is consistent with the .nz Rules principles.  If not, please explain.

2. What are your views on the key steps to end the conflicted names process and the timeframes to complete them?

3. Do you think the exception to general release for security reasons is reasonable? If not, please explain.

4. Do you think the exception to general release where it is inconsistent with the .nz Principle ‘.nz should support te reo Māori me ōna tikanga and participation in .nz by Māori’ is reasonable? If not, please explain. 

5. What are your views on the level of the proposed determination fee being set at $1,000?

6. Please provide any general comments on the approach.

How to make a submission

Publishing submissions

We have an open policy-making process and publish all submissions to encourage open conversation. Contact details will not be published, but the names of submitters will be published.

If you would like to include confidential information in your submission, please contact dotnzreview@internetnz.net.nz to discuss what arrangements we might implement if we were to agree to receive the confidential information.

We will publish the submissions in this section as soon as practical after they are received. 

The form

Please use this Google form to submit your feedback (no longer linked as consultation is closed).

The information provided in submissions will be used to inform InternetNZ’s final decision on changes to the Conflicted Domain Names Process. InternetNZ may contact you directly to clarify anything in your submission. 

Contact details 

If you have any questions about the consultation, please email dotnzreview@internetnz.net.nz.

Submissions received 

Conflicted Names Policy Consultation Submissions received as at 9 December 2024. 

 

Helpful links

• The DNC website has information on resolving a conflicted domain name. 
• If you don’t want to register the shorter domain name, you can find out how to change your preference.
• Conflicted domain names review