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Forum index » Updates » Press and Other Analysis

"Whois" May Be Scrapped ...
Moderators: krystyn

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catherwood
I Have 100 Cats and Smell of Wee

Joined: 25 Sep 2002
Posts: 4109
Location: Silicon Valley, CA

"Whois" May Be Scrapped ...
news article by Associated Press

not directly ARG-related, other than the fact that we use WHOIS all the time to verify websites.

Whois May Be Scrapped to Break Deadlock
By ANICK JESDANUN, AP

(excerpts)

Quote:

...some privacy advocates are proposing scrapping the [whois database] system entirely because they can't agree with the people who use the system on how to give domain name owners more options when they register - such as designating third-party agents. Privacy advocates say individuals shouldn't have to reveal personal information simply to have a Web site.

The so-called "sunset" proposal is expected to come up Wednesday before a committee of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, a key Internet oversight agency.

It will have a tough time winning approval - and could create chaos. But the fact that abandoning Whois is on the table underscores frustrations among privacy advocates that ICANN appears on the verge of launching new studies and deferring a decision yet again after some six years of debate.

...many negotiators are stalling because they prefer the status quo, which gives them the access to Whois that they desire.

Marilyn Cade, a former AT&T executive who has been active on Whois advocacy...is part of the camp that prefers further studies on the extent of any Whois abuse and the degree to which individuals are actually registering names for personal use - which could justify more privacy - rather than for businesses, nonprofit endeavors or domain name speculation.

Those findings, she said, would help ICANN tailor new policies that address actual problems, even if it means delay. And the study option seems likelier than the sunset proposal to prevail Wednesday.

There's agreement that more could be done to improve the accuracy of Whois, as scammers and even legitimate individuals who want to remain anonymous can easily enter fake data.

The disagreements are over "who gets to see it (and) how can we protect people's privacy while at the same time making accurate information available to those who need it," said Vint Cerf, ICANN's chairman.

ICANN's Generic Names Supporting Organization Council appeared to break a logjam in March when it formed a working group to consider letting domain name owners designate third-party agents in Whois listings. Currently, owners must provide their full names, organizations, postal and e-mail addresses and phone numbers.

But when the working group started developing an implementation plan, the opposing sides quickly disagreed on the basics, including the level of detail required.

"There were a number of parties that just would not compromise and could not accept that there are legitimate uses of Whois," said Margie Milam, a working group member and general counsel of the brand-protection firm MarkMonitor.

Approval of the sunset proposal, as drafted, would mean abolishing the current Whois requirements by late 2008. After that, individual registration companies would be able to decide whether to continue offering data on their customers, leading to gaps in the registration records.

...
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

(I was sent this article at work -- i'm looking for an online copy now, for the full text.)
Finally found this archived copy

Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 1:55 am
Last edited by catherwood on Fri Nov 02, 2007 2:14 am; edited 1 time in total

catherwood
I Have 100 Cats and Smell of Wee

Joined: 25 Sep 2002
Posts: 4109
Location: Silicon Valley, CA

Update: Frequent users of Whois are relieved
Whois "sunset proposal" narrowly rejected

oh, heh, that article came out before the vote yesterday. The vote is over and Whois seems safe for a while longer. Here is a follow-up:

Whois Studies Approved, Privacy Deferred

Quote:

A panel on Internet names voted Wednesday to defer long-simmering questions on whether names, phone numbers and other private information on domain name owners should remain public in open, searchable databases called Whois.

The committee also rejected a proposal to give Internet users the ability to list third-party contacts rather than their own private data in the Whois databases.

Interesting.

Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 2:02 am

konamouse
Official uF Dietitian

Joined: 02 Dec 2002
Posts: 8010
Location: My own alternate reality

People who want privacy just use GoDaddy.

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Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 10:07 am

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