[Privsec] Story in National Journal on Whois Privacy

[Ralf Bendrath]

 From the internet governance caucus list, from Robert.
Headers etc. snipped.
R.

 > National Journal's Technology Daily
 > Dec. 1, 2005

> 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.