Begin forwarded message:
From: Ross Rader <ross@tucows.com>
Date: April 28, 2008 11:16:47 AM EDT
To: David Farber <dave@farber.net>
Subject: New Whois Policy for Canada
[dave, for ip if you wish. best /r]
From the Toronto Star
Domain name policy puts us in Internet vanguard
by Michael Geist
Mon 28 Apr 2008
Page: B02
Section: Business
Earlier this month, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority,
the agency that manages the dot-ca domain, celebrated its
one-millionth domain name registration. While that represents an
important milestone, a far more noteworthy development is that CIRA
also quietly announced the implementation of a new "whois" policy
that will better protect the privacy of hundreds of thousands of
Canadians and serve as a model for domain name registries around
the world.
The whois issue has attracted little public attention, yet it has
been the subject of heated debate within the domain name community
for many years. It revolves around the whois database, a publicly
accessible, searchable list of domain name registrant information
(as in "who is" the registrant of a particular domain name).
When CIRA was first established, its whois policy permitted detailed
disclosures about domain name registrants. A typical whois entry
included the domain name itself, the name of the registrant and
comprehensive contact information including postal address, phone
and fax numbers, as well as email addresses.
The ready availability of such information proved useful to law
enforcement, which often used whois information as part of
cybercrime investigations. Similarly, the pursuit of intellectual
property infringement claims, such as domain name cybersquatting
cases, relied upon access to whois information to commence legal
challenges to domain name registrations.
Notwithstanding these uses, CIRA recognized that its policy of
publicly disclosing personal information was generating significant
discomfort among many registrants. Citing privacy and spam
concerns, many registrants preferred to conceal their identity from
the public (though CIRA and the domain name registrar responsible
for the registration would have access to the personal
information).
Moreover, registrants of controversial domain names, such as domains
used for websites devoted to public criticism or political
advocacy, often wanted to shield their personal information for
fear of public censure.
As privacy and data protection commissioners began to express
reservations about the legality of requiring domain name
registrants to disclosure their personal information, CIRA proposed
a new policy in 2004. After two major public consultations,
mounting opposition from law enforcement about its loss of
"unfettered" access to whois data and years of operational delays,
CIRA last week began informing registrants that the new policy will
take effect on June 10, 2008.
Under the new policy, CIRA will continue to collect the same contact
information from registrants as under its current policy. However,
it will no longer require that such information be publicly
available through its whois directory. In its place, CIRA will only
require the public disclosure of limited technical information,
though individual registrants may voluntarily "opt-in" to providing
more personal information.
While the CIRA policy protects the privacy of individual
registrants, corporate or organizational registrants will typically
have their full information publicly disclosed. The policy
recognizes that corporate information does not raise specific
privacy concerns since corporate information does not constitute
personally identifiable information. Moreover, consumers may often
want to access corporate whois information when judging the
reliability of a website.
In order to ensure that domain name registrants can still be
contacted, CIRA has also established a unique message delivery
system. CIRA will allow the public to contact domain name
registrants without access to their personal information by
relaying the message through a Web-based submission form.
The Canadian changes may be long overdue, however, they also
instantly catapult the dot-ca into a global leadership position.
With more than a million Canadian domain name registrations, the
resolution of the whois issue ensures that the Canadian domain name
space is set for continued growth as it now features a "privacy
advantage" over other domains struggling to strike a similar
compromise.
Michael Geist holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and
E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law. He
served on the CIRA board from 2000-2006 and was active supporter of
whois policy reforms. He can reached at mgeist @ uottawa.ca or
online at www.michaelgeist.ca