Privacy of WHOIS Datbase

[Rick W. Weingarten]

FYI, This is a letter I sent this morning to GAC.
 
Rick
 
____________________________________________________________________
 
Mr Sharil Tarmizi, Chair
Governmental Advisory Committee/ ICANN
 
Ms Suzanne Sene, US Representative
Governmental Advisory Committee/ ICANN
 

Mr. Tarmizi and Ms Sene,

 

We are writing to strongly reiterate our position that ICANN needs to
protect the privacy of domain name holders in its policies regarding
WHOIS databases. That is:

 

1. Only information necessary for the stated purpose of the WHIOIS
database should be collected and retained, and 

 

2. The stated purpose of the database should be crafted as narrowly as
possible to meet the needs for technical management of the Internet. It
is not the business of ICANN nor the registrars to serve the ancillary
purposes of groups who may wish to have access to WHOIS information for
their own unrelated needs.

 

These two principles are long-standing and fundamental to privacy law
and regulation in many if not most of the nations served by the
Internet, and ICANN policies need to respect these laws and regulations.
To the extent there may still be open questions about the nature and
coverage of these national policies, we would urge GAC, before it makes
a final decision, to consult formally and extensively with national data
privacy commissioners to get these laws and regulations interests
clearly on the record.

 

We would note that libraries in many nations have had to vigorously
defend the confidentiality of their patrons' information use. We are
painfully aware of the potential dangers in collecting and retaining
data about peoples' information use, as well as dangers inherent in the
accommodating the demands of outside parties for access to such data.
The Internet has increased both these dangers for users and pressures
for access. Since libraries are integrally important in providing public
access to the Internet, we would be most disappointed if ICANN ignored
these basic privacy principles-as well as national laws-and
unnecessarily put millions of Internet users at risk.

 

The American Library Association, the oldest and largest professional
library association in the United States, has been a member of NCUC for
many years. We look forward to continuing to work with ICANN to create a
global Internet that serves the needs of the world community in a way
that respects their dignity and human rights.

 

Sincerely,

 
Frederick W. Weingarten
Director, Office for Information Technology Policy
American Library Association
1615 New Hampshire Ave, NW
Washington, DC  20009
(202) 628-8410
 
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