Whois
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WHOIS services provide public access to data on registered domain names, which currently includes contact information for Registered Name Holders. The extent of registration data collected at the time of registration of a domain name, and the ways such data can be accessed, are specified in agreements established by ICANN for domain names registered in generic top-level domains (gTLDs). For example, ICANN requires accredited registrars to collect and provide free public access to the name of the registered domain name and its nameservers and registrar, the date the domain was created and when its registration expires, and the contact information for the Registered Name Holder, the technical contact, and the administrative contact. Current Activity (updated October 2009) The GNSO Council is exploring several extensive studies of WHOIS. During its 4 March 2009 meeting in Mexico City, the GNSO Council approved a resolution asking ICANN Staff to pursue cost estimates for six WHOIS study areas recommended by members of the ICANN community and ICANN's Government Advisory Committee. Staff has collapsed the six initial study areas into four (a cross reference to the original study groupings can be found here [PDF, 64K]. Proposals are now being sought to conduct the first set of studies on WHOIS Misuse and WHOIS Registrant Identification. An RFP for a third WHOIS study area on Proxy and Privacy services will be released at a later date. A fourth study area, calling for an examination of the implications of non-ASCII registration data in WHOIS records, will be considered by a new SSAC-GNSO Working Group that is just convening at the request of the ICANN Board last June. The Internationalized Registration Data Working Group will be studying the feasibility of introducing display specifications to deal with internationalized registration data and will be consulting with other ICANN Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees when conducting this work. The fifth study area, requested in May 2009 by the GNSO Council, asks that a comprehensive set of requirements for WHOIS service be compiled based on current requirements and a review of previous GNSO WHOIS policy work. This resolution reflects increasing community concerns that the current WHOIS service is deficient in a number of ways, including data accuracy and reliability, as well as in other technical areas noted in recent SSAC reports, such as accessibility and readability of WHOIS contact information in an IDN environment. Staff is currently taking up this work, including consultation with the Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees as requested, and will be reporting back to the GNSO Council with estimated timeframes for completion. This work was just initiated in September 2009 and will likely take several months to complete. Updated cross-reference table for WHOIS studies under consideration Working Definitions for Key Terms that May be Used in Future WHOIS Studies Addendum to Report on Public Suggestions on Further Studies of WHOIS Staff has prepared the following Report on Public Suggestions on Further Studies of WHOIS ICANN's GNSO Council invites recommendations from the public for future studies on WHOIS Council Report to the Board on WHOIS, 15 November, 2007 Staff Overview of Recent GNSO Whois Activity, updated 11 October, 2007 Staff Implementation Notes on the WHOIS Working Group Report, 11 October, 2007 Staff Overview of Recent GNSO WHOIS Activity, 13 September 2007 Final Task Force Report On Whois Services, 16 March 2007 The Whois Task Force has submitted its Final Task Force Report on Whois Services to the GNSO Council. Summary of GNSO Public Forum on Whois, São Paulo, Brazil, 4th December 2006 [PDF, 5,206K | Word, 5,890K] Detailed summary of the GNSO Public Forum on Whois, São Paulo, 4th December 2006, with meeting transcription and presentation slides. (Full transcript is here - http://www.icann.org/meetings/saopaulo/captioning-gnso-publicforum-06dec06.htm) Draft Procedure for Potential Conflicts between Whois Requirements and Privacy Laws This draft procedure was posted for public comments from 3 December 2006 to 15 January 2007. Preliminary Task Force Report on Whois Services ICANN Board decision Board decision on 10 May 2006 The ICANN Board approved the GNSO Recommendation on a Procedure for Potential Conflicts between WHOIS Requirements and Privacy Laws From GNSO Council meeting on 12 April 2006 – "The GNSO Council recommends that the WHOIS task force use the following definition:
as a working definition to allow the task force to proceed on terms of reference (2), (3), and (4) (see: http://gnso.icann.org/policies/terms-of-reference.html)" ICANN Mission and WHOIS Formulation 1 (PDF) (27 June 2006) WHOIS Task Force Presentation in Wellington (PDF) (28 March 2006) WHOIS Task Force Final task force report on the purpose of Whois and of the Whois contacts (15 March 2006) GNSO Council report to the ICANN Board (PDF) (18 January 2006) FINAL Preliminary Task Force Report on the Purpose of Whois (PDF) (18 January 2006) DRAFT Preliminary Task Force Report on the Purpose of Whois (23 December 2005) GNSO Public Forum presentation in Vancouver (2 December 2005) Terms of Reference for WHOIS task force Accepted by the GNSO Council on 2 June 2005 GNSO Public Forum presentations in Mar del Plata (6 April 2005)
WHOIS Task Force 1&2 and 3 list (23 February 2005) GNSO Council meeting 17 February 2005 Transcript: Whois task force 1/2 open call on CRISP (12 January 2005) Whois Task Force 1/2
WHOIS Update by Dr. Bruce Tonkin, GNSO Council Chair at ICANN Public Forum, Thursday, 22 July 2004 WHOIS Task Forces 1, 2, 3 Joint Meeting on 20 July, 2004 - Minutes Public comment period extended to Monday 5 July 2004 Public comment period extended to Monday 5 July 2004 Public comment period extended to Monday 5 July 2004 Notice: The deadline for responses to the Whois task force 1, 2 and 3 surveys has been extended. Your participation and time in answering a questionnaire would be greatly appreciated. Whois Task Force 1
Whois Task Force 2
Whois Task Force 3
WHOIS Montreal Workshop material (Posted 3 February 2004) MP3 Survey Results (22 January 2004) WHOIS Historical Presentations (PDFs)
RAA sections: WHOIS services, data collection, display, accuracy (16 December 2003) WHOIS Task Force Representatives (17 November 2003) Mandate to form WHOIS Privacy Steering Group Staff Manager's Issues report on Privacy Issues Related to WHOIS Whois Steering Committee Mailing List Archives WHOIS Privacy Steering Group Membership and Liaisons Meetings/Minutes |