GAC (Governmental Advisory Committee)
The GAC (Governmental Advisory Committee) is an [[icann|ICANN]] advisory body composed of representatives from national governments and intergovernmental organizations. Unlike supporting organizations, the GAC advises rather than votes, but its advice carries special weight: when the GAC issues consensus advice, the ICANN Board must either follow it or explain why it will not. The GAC has historically raised concerns about sensitive strings in the [[new-gtld-program|New gTLD Program]] (e.g., .amazon, .patagonia) and about public safety issues in domain registration. Over 180 governments participate as members.
Example
The GAC issued early warnings about the strings .amazon and .patagonia during the New gTLD Program, citing geographic and cultural concerns on behalf of South American governments — ultimately blocking their delegation for several years.