[PC-NCSG] [NCSG-Discuss] Thick Whois WG Comments - with some proposed edits

[Wendy Seltzer]

On 01/14/2013 01:33 PM, Robin Gross wrote:
> 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).

I support this statement.  Thanks Amr, Kathy, and Roy for your work.

--Wendy

> 
> 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>
>>
> 
> 
> 
> 
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-- 
Wendy Seltzer -- wendy at seltzer.org +1 617.863.0613
Policy Counsel, World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
Fellow, Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University
Visiting Fellow, Yale Law School Information Society Project
http://wendy.seltzer.org/
https://www.chillingeffects.org/
https://www.torproject.org/
http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/