The 2013 RAA: 2013 Top Stories
A fresh Registrar Accreditation Agreement is finalized and signed by many registrars.
2013 saw the finalization of the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA), which is the contract between ICANN and domain name registrars that offer domain names to the public. It’s the first major update since 2009.
This fresh agreement has major implications for everyone who touches the domain name industry, not just for registrars and domainers. It will affect every person who registers a domain name.
A big change in the 2013 RAA is that the registrars have to verify contact details for domain registrants. If a business owner doesn’t confirm its information, its domain name may be suspended. That goes for changes to contact information as well, which leads me to believe that some big websites will go dark thanks to miscommunication.
Registrars have by now signed the agreement in droves. That’s since signing the 2013 RAA is required in order to offer any fresh top level domain names to the public.
It will be interesting to watch for intended and unintended consequences of the 2013 RAA in the coming year.
