New Whois Policy for Canada

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

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

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