Thick Whois WG Comments - with some proposed edits

[Robin Gross]

Thanks, Amr.  FYI: It is the NCSG Policy Committee, which decides to  
endorse statements on behalf of NCSG.  It would be great if the NCSG- 
PC could agree to endorse this statement before the deadline (or  
suggest any changes to it).

Thanks again!
Robin


On Jan 14, 2013, at 9:24 AM, Amr Elsadr wrote:

> Thanks Kathy and Roy. If there are any more comments that members  
> would like included, please post them today. The next Thick Whois  
> WG call is scheduled for tomorrow at 15:00 UTC (right before the  
> NCSG Policy meeting). We will need to submit our response to the WG  
> prior to this call.
>
> It would also be great if NPOC could endorse the response, making  
> it a response by NCSG instead of NCUC. As far as I know, NPOC has  
> not submitted anything so far.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Amr
>
> On Jan 14, 2013, at 7:15 PM, Balleste, Roy wrote:
>
>> Hello!
>>
>> Kathy was kind enough to unify all responses so far, I have (with  
>> her consent) unified mine with all others.
>> Please find attached.
>>
>> Roy Balleste, J.S.D.
>> Professor of Law
>> Law Library Director
>> St. Thomas University
>> 16401 NW 37th Avenue
>> Miami Gardens, FL 33054  USA
>> 1-305-623-2341
>>
>> From: NCSG-Discuss [mailto:NCSG-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On  
>> Behalf Of Kathy Kleiman
>> Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2013 10:05 PM
>> To: NCSG-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
>> Subject: [NCSG-Discuss] Thick Whois WG Comments - with some  
>> proposed edits
>>
>> Hi All,
>> Great thanks to Amr for the first draft of comments to the Thick  
>> Whois PDP Working Group. As you know, the question on the table is  
>> whether a “thick Whois model” – one in which all Whois data is  
>> held and made available by the Registry (e.g., Verisign) and not  
>> the Registrar – should be the model for all existing and all new  
>> gTLDs.
>> For .COM, it's a huge issue. It is a “thin” registry, and 100  
>> million+ Whois records are stored by the registrar pursuant to  
>> local laws (including local privacy and free speech laws). Whether  
>> we can convert these 100 million+ records to a single database –  
>> and whether we want to – are questions for this group.
>> Further, the issue of “Whois” data, service and protocol are all  
>> up in the air. If someday we reach agreement that this very  
>> personal data – that can expose individuals and organizations to  
>> threat for what they say and share online (including political,  
>> religious and ethnic minority views and dissent, including non- 
>> commercial activity) – should be private, then a single  
>> centralized Registry Whois database creates a single point of  
>> access. That means that should Registries be cozy with their local  
>> governments, all of this data may be relinquished without due  
>> process, or even subject to criminal laws that are non-standard in  
>> the world (e.g., Syria, N.Korea, China).
>> The fact is that registrants know their registrars and it is to  
>> their registrars that the Whois information is provided. Most  
>> registrants will think they are protected under those rules.  
>> Despite the fact that New gTLDs (for this round, at least) require  
>> a centralized Whois – with the Registry – I remain deeply  
>> concerned about the consolidation of the massive .COM Whois (if  
>> it's even legal – see below) and the standard set for all future  
>> registries and TLDs – regardless of their political, social, or  
>> religious uses.
>>
>> If NPOC shares these concerns, I urge you to sign on – with thanks!
>>
>> Best,  Kathy Kleiman (veteran of far too many Whois task forces  
>> and review teams...)
>> p.s. All of Amr's comments kept, and I added on and filled in some  
>> sections...
>> <Edits to Thick Whois PDP WG Initial Comments.2.doc>
>




IP JUSTICE
Robin Gross, Executive Director
1192 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA  94117  USA
p: +1-415-553-6261    f: +1-415-462-6451
w: http://www.ipjustice.org     e: robin at ipjustice.org



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