Welcome to the second issue of NetMission’s news and policy digest, where we transform some tech news and policy updates of the month into a bite-size reader for you. This edition will dive into efforts to change the Internet into an inclusive and multilingual ecosystem.
A Gateway to the Next Billion Internet Users
Have you ever wondered how many of the approximately 7.000 languages that exist today can be used to create a web page? And what would happen if you use non-English characters to create your next personal email? Since 2015, the Internet technical community has spearheaded activities to introduce more languages into the ecosystem.
Universal Acceptance (UA) is the process that ensures domain names and email addresses can be used in languages other than English. It enables the use of Cantonese, Devangaric, or Arabic characters on web pages, allowing users to use the Internet more comfortably in languages that better reflect their interests and culture. In India, for example, it is possible to register domain names in the 22 constitutional languages.
UA boosts the interoperability of the Internet and, given that the Internet is the foundation for the digital economy, UA is critical to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by allowing the 75% of the world’s population that do not speak English at all to reap the benefits of being connected to the Internet.
UA in Action: ICANN78 and South Africa’s New gTLDs Program
During ICANN’s 25th Annual General Meeting, the international UA Steering Group (UASG), a volunteer-led initiative focused on UA awareness and remediation, provided an update on the work of the technology, Email Address Internationalization, Communications, and Measurement working groups.
The UASG highlighted how leading companies have worked with them to embed UA features into their software. Responsive companies include Meta, by far the leader in social media applications, and WordPress, the leading website builder and content management system.
Moreover, Pierre Dandjinou, ICANN’s VP for Africa, expressed in a recent interview that the NGO expects that within a couple of years, South Africans will be able to register new top-level domain names that are longer than three letters and some that contain special scripts, also allowing for the inclusion of more of indigenous languages. Such an initiative is vital to help reduce the mobile usage gap in the Sub-Saharan Africa region.
Join the Dialogue
The Universal Acceptance (UA) Day is an event created to rally local, national, and regional stakeholders and to cause a buzz around adopting UA. The UASG is now calling for event proposals for the second annual UA Day to be held on 28 March 2024. Let’s work together to create a more inclusive and diverse Internet!
Fun Fact: UA Readiness
Did you know that not every email service provider supports email addresses with non-Latin characters? Is your current email server Email Address Internationalization (EAI) or UA-ready? Use the UASG-developed widget to check.
You can also check if you can register an email address in your local language or search for funny domain names, such as ‘.bot,’ .duck,’ or ‘.pizza,’ in the IANA root zone database.
Written by Vicente Arias (Reviewed and edited by Kenneth Leung and Jenna Manhau Fung)