On behalf of the ICANN Business Constituency (BC), dedicated to the interests of business users of the Internet and the future of business growth on the Internet, welcome to Puerto Rico and ICANN 61!

ICANN 61 kicks off a very busy 2018 for the ICANN Community! In 2018 work will continue around the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and its impact on WHOIS. Since GDPR will enter into force on 25 May 2018, these next few months will be key to finding the right way forward to ensure the contracted parties are able to comply with the law without breaching their agreements with ICANN. This will be though not the only topic in ICANN. Other important issues and priorities include: New “GTLD Subsequent Procedure PDP”; “curative rights PDP” and finally cross Community Working group on Accountability, which includes issues such as “transparency” and “jurisdiction”.

ICANN 61 will be the first “Community Forum” of the year and will also be focused apart from policy issues on outreach, capacity development, and showcasing ICANN’s work to a broader global audience. Recognizing that the internet affects business users all over the world, the BC is thrilled to expand outreach to the broader business community and particularly in the Latin America Region. In this respect, the BC will be attending outreach event at the ICANN 61 meeting. The BC welcomes all business and commercial users to join us to learn more about what the BC does and how members in the BC positively engage in the community. The BC values geographical diversity and involvement of women in the community!

The BC continues to play its part to make sure the ICANN community is every day more transparent and accountable. The BC remains committed to helping strengthen the multi-stakeholder model that has helped build the successful, global, and business- friendly Internet community we have today. And we look forward to more and deeper engagement of new potential members in new places, from San Juan to Panama and Barcelona where the next ICANN meetings will be held.

Claudia Selli, BC Chair