[tf2-sg2] DRAFT: Summary of Information Received on Current Practice

[Thomas Roessler <roessler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello,

I'm attaching a draft summary of the information we have gathered so
far.  The bulk of this document is based on an evening of Google
searches for proxy registration providers, and on comments I
received in response to a blog item; see
<http://log.does-not-exist.org/archives/2004/02/24/1371_proxy_registration_providers.html>.

Regards,
-- 
Thomas Roessler  <roessler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
At-Large Advisory Committee: http://alac.info/

Title: WHOIS -- Current Practice

WHOIS: Current Practice

Thomas Roessler <roessler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, 2004-02-26

Data elements

An overview chart of the data elements presented by registrars and registries can be found on the ICANN web site.

Registrar and ccTLD Survey

WHOIS Task Force #2 circulated a surveys among registrars and ccTLD operators. Feed-back was received from Deutsche Telekom, Go Daddy and affiliated firms, and from Global Name Registry (the latter in response to the questions asked to ccTLD operators). To date, no responses were received from ccTLD operators.

Additionally, ICANN staff was asked to test-drive some registrars' registration procedures to assess how registrants are actually informed of the data collected and disclosed, and asked for their consent to the collection and disclosure of their data. The part of the questionnaire that relates to these questions will be discussed separately.

Both Go Daddy and Deutsche Telekom make the full WHOIS data required by the registrar accreditation agreement available. Deutsche Telekom had implemented three privacy levels for contact data, but deactivated this feature upon complaints. Go Daddy has a sister firm, Domains by Proxy, that provides fr domain name registrations that do not require disclosure of registrant details in WHOIS services; see below. In terms of specific accommodations to local law, Go Daddy had to make none, and Deutsche Telekom is pointing registrants to the Federal Data Protection Law (Germany).

Global Name Registry reports that they had to adjust their WHOIS service to comply with local law, and that they have been in touch with the UK Data Commissioner / Information Commissioner.

Proxy Registration Services

The  Task Force has also attempted to gather information about proxy registration services. By this, we mean services that substitute their contact information for registrants contact information in the WHOIS service. Usually, these services act as a pro-forma registrant, and license the domain name in question to the actual registrant. The Task Force asked registrars whether they provide such services, and asked constituencies for anecdotal evidence about the practices of these services.

Responses received and further independent research yielded the following list of known proxy  services:

• Aplus (known in registrar listings as Abacus America) offers "unlisted" domain name registrations through a sister company. (The author of these lines was not able to find any terms and conditions on their web site, but that may have something to do with browser compatibility issues.)
• Domains By Proxy is a sister company of accredited registrar Go Daddy. Terms and conditions.
• IDdp appears to be affiliated with accredited registrar Key Systems GmbH. Terms and conditions.
• Registrar Encirca offers to its customers to replace their contact information by Encirca's.
• Registrar Network Solutions is offering a "private registration service" that displays disposable e-mail addresses and a PO box care of the registrar in the WHOIS  service. Terms and Conditions.
• enom offers a similar service under the name enom ID Protect.
  

• Katz Global does domain name registration for cash and e-gold, and does not collect any information except for an e-mail address. Terms of Service; Acceptable Use Policy.
• Silent Register appears to be an enom reseller; Terms and Conditions.
• ProxyOne also seems to be an enom reseller; Terms of Service.
• 1001 discrete resources uses contact information in Panama, and gives an Antigua address in its registration agreement. Limitations; registration agreement.
• alpina1.net is, according to WHOIS, owned by Mr. Dagobert Duck from Hanoi. This may be a Tucows reseller. Recommend e-gold as payment method. Terms and Conditions don't give much information about their "unlisted registration service."
• anonix doesn't offer much information; the approach is apparently to collect as little information as possible. Acceptable Usage Policy; Domain Registration service description.
• hiddenregistration.com is affiliated with Tucows reseller Wholesalenics. It is not entirely clear whether this offer is limited to registrations that are placed through Wholesalenics, or whether the firm also provides address proxying services in conjunction with other registrars.

There is little anecdotic evidence about the conditions under which  proxy services actually give up identifying information about registrants. The most widely reported incident concerns re-code.com. The domain name had been registered using Go Daddy's Domains By Proxy service; pseudonymity of the registrant was lifted upon receipt of a cease and desist letter from Wal-Mart. Discussion in Wendy Seltzer's web log; discussion on nettime-l.

The Non-Commercial Users' Constituency points out in its submission that the standard proxy situation means that an additional, and possibly unscrupulous, intermediary is introduced into the contractual relationship between registrar and registrant. That party then has the ability to do whatever it wants with the registered domain name.

Registrant Information and Consent

[TBD]