Jurisdictional and Regulatory Failures in Addressing DNS Abuse

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a critical component of the global internet; nonetheless, it can be exploited on a large scale to compromise cybersecurity, erode consumer trust, and destabilize the online landscape. This study critically assesses the current gaps in the legal environment to curtail DNS abuse globally, with a focus on the legal environment and expected developments by 2025. Based on a comprehensive review of international agreements, national laws, regulatory frameworks, and industry best practices, this review takes into consideration critical gaps in legal definitions, enforcement mandate, and international cooperation. The study concludes the inadequacies of existing regulatory tools, such as the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, the EU NIS2 Directive, and the UK Digital Economy Act as examples of inconsistent regional measures, in addition to ICANN’s and other industry stakeholders’ governance initiatives. The study also delves into the complexities brought out by jurisdiction, divergence in definitions, and the weakness of voluntary compliance. The study concludes that while incremental progress has been made, existing legal frameworks remain disjointed and insufficient to comprehensively deal with the global and rapidly changing aspects of DNS abuse. The study calls for urgent reforms, some of which include updating international cybercrime law, simplifying regulatory frameworks, and creating accelerated cooperation mechanisms, all directed towards maintaining the integrity and security of the global Domain Name System infrastructure.