prop-171: Operational Accountability for Abuse Contacts in Sub-Allocated Address Space

This proposal seeks to establish a principle of operational accountability for abuse contacts in sub-allocated address space. If adopted, APNIC policy would require that where address space is sub-allocated, assigned, or otherwise used by a downstream organisation, the upstream holder must ensure there is a reliable operational path from the registered abuse contact to the party responsible for handling abuse reports for that address space. This principle applies regardless of the sub-allocation tier or organisational model involved. It does not prescribe a single operational model for how abuse handling should be organised, nor does it require the public disclosure of all downstream contact information. The intent is to ensure that the registered contact is operationally meaningful, not merely reachable. This proposal does not alter the existing validation requirement under APNIC-127. It does not introduce a new audit or compliance mechanism. The operational guidance needed to implement this principle across different sub-allocation tiers will be developed by the APNIC Secretariat in consultation with the community.

Tsung-Yi Yu and Alban Kwan