ALA comments -- more needed!

[KathrynKL at AOL.COM]

All:   I am forwarding on wonderful comments submitted today by NCUC member 
Rick Weingarten of the American Library Association.  ALA supported Formulation 
1 -- a narrow purpose for the Whois database.  Thanks Rick! 

But over half a dozen anti-piracy organizations and the Motion Picture 
Association have submitted comments on the other side.  Your words mean a lot right 
now.  Please submit your comments --- 
http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-18jan06.htm.  Short is fine; privacy is key.
Thanks, 
Kathy

February 7, 2006
 
The American Library Association strongly supports the first formulation of 
the purpose for Whois.
 
A basic tenent of privacy law is that data collectors must collect only the 
minimum personal information necessary to achieve the specific purposes of that 
organization. By no means should personal information be collected simply 
because third parties might find it useful for their own purposes. The purpose of 
the Whois database is to assist with the technical administration of the 
Internet, and nothing else. Even if those ancillary uses were deemed worthwhile 
from some perspectives (and that, itself, is open to debate), collection and 
retention of such personally identifiable information creates a serious potential 
for misuse, fraud, and intimidation of speech..
 
The American Library Association has long stood for the privacy rights of 
information seekers and providers, including the right of anonymous speech, 
regardless of media. Thus, as key providers of Internet services to the public, we 
are specifically committed to privacy rights with regard to speech on the 
Internet. We believe that, while managing the technology of the Internet , ICANN 
has an obligation to minimize the impacts of its technical decisions on broader 
social policy issues.
 
The Office for Information Technology Policy of the American Library 
Association is a member of the NCUC.
 
Signed,
 
 
Fred W. Weingarten
Director
Office for Information Technology Policy
American Library Association

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