--- title: "Association Pushes Strategies to Keep Domain System Healthy" id: "36918" type: "post" slug: "association-pushes-strategies-to-keep-domain-system-healthy" published_at: "2017-02-10T00:06:02+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T16:21:38+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/02/10/association-pushes-strategies-to-keep-domain-system-healthy/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/02/10/association-pushes-strategies-to-keep-domain-system-healthy.md" excerpt: "With its new Healthy Domains Initiative, the Domain Name Association is attempting to be proactive on issues of growth, credentials, and self-regulation." taxonomy_category: - "Advocacy" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Business" - "initiative" - "internet security" - "names" - "trade associations" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Industry Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Association Pushes Strategies to Keep Domain System Healthy Domain names are a hugely important part of what makes the internet the internet. And a trade group that supports domain owners is ensuring that the industry is doing what it can to keep the system working properly. That’s where the Domain Name Association’s Healthy Domains Initiative (HDI) comes into play. The campaign, launched Wednesday, highlights the trade group’s recommendations for issues of intellectual property, growth management, and regulation around top-level domains. The four main steps that the group plans to take, [according to a statement (opens in a new tab)](http://www.thedna.org/domain-name-association-outlines-healthy-practices-part-key-initiative/) , include: - **Addressing online security issues** such as malware and phishing through a set of 20 voluntary practices designed to combat domain name system abuse - **Fighting child abuse** through formalized systems that handle abusive imagery and notify the proper authorities - **Taking on rogue online pharmacies** by making it easier for domain registrars to handle complaints about unlicensed pharmacies - **Handling copyright infringement** by creating a third-party system that would address infringement complaints through a system similar to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ (ICANN) [Uniform Dispute-Resolution Policy (opens in a new tab)](https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/help/dndr/udrp-en) In a blog post discussing the effort, Mason Cole—vice president of communications and industry relations at Donuts, a registrar for new-style top-level domains—notes that the initiative came about after a year of collaboration among many of the association’s major stakeholders. It’s an attempt to get ahead of problems lingering within the industry before they become more significant. “While HDI is designed primarily to advance the safe and beneficial evolution of the domain name system, its secondary goal is to demonstrate to internet stakeholders the capability of industry operators to effectively self-regulate,” [Cole wrote on CircleID (opens in a new tab)](http://www.circleid.com/posts/20170207_domain_name_association_outlines_healthy_practices/) . “HDI is not under the aegis of ICANN or any other regulator—it’s an industry-led program that operates independently, guided by the organizations that have the operational experience to keep the namespace healthy.” (iStock/Thinkstock) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#Business](https://associationsnow.com/tag/business/) [#initiative](https://associationsnow.com/tag/initiative/) [#internet security](https://associationsnow.com/tag/internet-security/) [#names](https://associationsnow.com/tag/names/) [#trade associations](https://associationsnow.com/tag/trade-associations/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoUrban Land Institute- Project Recovery: Rebuilding Los Angeles After the January 2025 WildfiresSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/urban-land-institute-project-recovery-rebuilding-los-angeles-after-the-january-2025-wildfires/) - [VideoThe Career Moves Every Association Leader Needs Right NowSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/the-career-moves-every-association-leader-needs-right-now/) - [VideoNCRA: Safeguarding Cancer Surveillance: An Advocacy Response to FY26 Budget ThreatsSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/ncra-safeguarding-cancer-surveillance-an-advocacy-response-to-fy26-budget-threats/) - [PodcastAssociations NOW Presents: All for the Love of Chicago: Rethinking the Destination ExperienceSeptember 10, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/10/associations-now-presents-all-for-the-love-of-chicago-rethinking-the-destination-experience/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2017%2F02%2F10%2Fassociation-pushes-strategies-to-keep-domain-system-healthy%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !