Milton Mueller and Mawaki Chango have posted a very useful timeline of WHOIS policy development dating back to 1982.
Post Tagged with: "WHOIS"
The Globe on Terror Goes Digital
The Globe and Mail published an embarrassing feature story on the weekend focusing on terror groups' use of the Internet and a "Canadian connection." A story on terror group use of the Internet would have made for an interesting (albeit unoriginal) story, so it appears that the Globe tried to generate greater interest in the story by adding a Canadian connection. The article begins with "Welcome to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia – pivotal battleground in the global jihad."
Why does the Globe think Yarmouth is a pivotal battleground in the global jihad? Because Register.com, a leading domain name registrar, uses Yarmouth as the base for those want to register domain names anonymously. It is difficult to overstate the extent to which this claim is misguided.
Whois Policy Reform Advances
The Associated Press reports this week on ICANN developments involving the Whois reform. The Whois database, which displays domain name registrant information including names, addresses, phone numbers, postal and email addresses, has been the subject of years of debate within ICANN as many in the Internet community have expressed concerns […]
ICANN Sacrifices Privacy for Shot at Independence
My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, BBC version, homepage version) examines the recent agreement between ICANN and the U.S. government. Late last month, ICANN took a major step toward addressing some ongoing concerns by signing a new agreement with the U.S. government entitled the Joint Project Agreement. ICANN immediately heralded the JPA as a "dramatic step forward" for full management of the Internet's domain name system through a "multi-stakeholder model of consultation." It added that the agreement grants it unprecedented independence by removing many of the U.S. government’s oversight controls. These include the elimination of a twice-annual reporting requirement to the U.S. Department of Commerce (ICANN will instead release a single annual report targeted to the full Internet community) and a shift away from the highly prescriptive policy responsibilities featured in the original ICANN contract.
While the JPA may indeed represent an important change, a closer examination of its terms suggest that there may be a hidden price tag behind ICANN newfound path toward independence – the privacy of domain name registrants.
ICANN Sacrifices Privacy for Shot at Independence
Appeared in the Toronto Star on October 9, 2006 as Web's Naming Body Barters Away Privacy Appeared in the BBC on October 10, 2006 as Internet Privacy 'Sacrified" By ICANN Internet governance has attracted increasing attention in recent years as governments, business communities, and Internet users struggle to develop a […]
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