Story in National Journal on Whois Privacy

[KathrynKL at AOL.COM]

And a story from the National Journal that might be of interest.  Kathy

Privacy: Privacy Advocates Push Changes To Domain Database

Randy Barrett
© National Journal Group, Inc.

Privacy advocates are renewing their call to remove personal identifying 
information from the Whois database. 

The database carries name, address and telephone numbers for all domain name 
holders and is a key tool for law enforcement and intellectual property 
holders to track down online fraudsters. 

But critics say the current database breaks international personal privacy 
laws. "Our current domain-name system requires disclosure as a condition of 
entry -- in violation of data protection laws and freedom of expression principles 
worldwide," said Kathryn Kleiman in a presentation Tuesday in Vancouver, 
British Columbia. Kleiman is co-founder of the Noncommercial Users Constituency, 
an advisory group to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

Laws in Canada, the European Union and Australia forbid the posting of 
personal data, said Kleiman. Nevertheless, registrars in those countries are 
required to post the data per ICANN rules.

The Whois argument has been shuttling back and forth between privacy 
advocates and the law enforcement community, including the Federal Trade Commission, 
for more than four years. "We've been at a stalemate," Kleiman said.

Kleiman and others argue that the existing personal data on Whois represents 
a security risk - some individuals have been successfully stalked using the 
address information.

Whois critics also contend the detailed personal information is not necessary 
to run the modern Internet. "It is an artifact," said Ross Rader, who is a 
member of the registrar constituency group within ICANN.

Rader supports removing the personal data and making it available only via 
subpoena. "Law enforcement has always had access to data through due process," 
he said.

But Steven Metalitz, senior vice president of the International Intellectual 
Property Alliance, counters that the current information is a vital tool in 
quickly tracking down spammers, copyright thieves and phishers. "All that 
depends on public access to Whois," he said.

Requiring a subpoena takes too much time, Metalitz added. In the case of 
phishers, who post copycat homepages that look like the real sites of legitimate 
companies to gather personal data, "the longer the site is up, the more damage 
it does," he said. "And what if the site is outside the U.S.?"

The parties involved agree that a quick resolution to the debate is unlikely. 
"I don't think there will be a consensus on a total solution," said Metalitz. 


Rader and Kleiman hope the combination of noncommercial users and registrars 
can turn the tide in their favor. But any proposal must work its way through 
the ICANN deliberative process which is not known for its alacrity. 

"ICANN's mission is narrow and this database should be narrow" as well, said 
Kleiman.

National Journal's Technology Daily PM Dec. 1, 2005ds

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