[council] Public Comment- Interisle Consulting Group's WHOIS Proxy/Privacy Reveal & Relay Feasibility Survey

[Glen de Saint Géry <Glen@xxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-2-04jun12-en.htm
Interisle Consulting Group's WHOIS Proxy/Privacy Reveal & Relay Feasibility 
Survey
Comment/Reply Periods (*)

Important Information Links

Comment Open:

4 June 2012

Comment Close:

25 June 2012

Close Time (UTC):

23:59 UTC

Public Comment 
Announcement<http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-2-04jun12-en.htm>

Reply Open:

26 June 2012

To Submit Your Comments (Forum)<mailto:whois-pp-survey@xxxxxxxxx>

Reply Close:

16 July 2012

View Comments Submitted<http://forum.icann.org/lists/whois-pp-survey/>

Close Time (UTC):

23:59 UTC

Report of Public Comments

Brief Overview

Originating Organization:

GNSO Council - Interisle Consulting's WHOIS Proxy/Privacy Reveal & Relay 
Feasibility Survey

Categories/Tags:

Policy Processes

Purpose (Brief):

This survey, conducted by the Interisle Consulting Group in Boston, MA, USA, is 
intended to help the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) Council 
determine the feasibility of conducting an extensive analytical study ("full 
study") into communication Relay and identity Reveal requests sent for gTLD 
domain names registered using Proxy and Privacy services.

Current Status:

This Public Comment solicitation represents an opportunity for the community to 
consider the survey results detailed in this draft report, ask questions, 
request clarifications, and share perspectives about the feasibility of 
conducting a full study into WHOIS Proxy/Privacy Reveal & Relay handling for 
gTLD domain names. In parallel, ICANN and Interisle will conduct a Webinar to 
facilitate feedback by summarizing this survey's purpose, methodology, key 
findings, and conclusions.

Next Steps:

Interisle will consider all comments submitted to this Public Comment forum 
during the comment period, incorporate any needed clarifications, and then 
publish a final version of this WHOIS Proxy/Privacy Reveal & Relay Survey 
report. Afterwards, the GNSO Council will use this report as a foundation to 
determine whether and how to launch a full study into WHOIS Proxy/Privacy 
Reveal & Relay handling for gTLD domain names.

Staff Contact:

Liz Gasster

Email:

policy.staff@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:policy.staff@xxxxxxxxx?subject=More%20information%20on%20the%20Interisle%20Consulting%20Group's%20WHOIS%20Proxy/Privacy%20Reveal%20and%20Relay%20Feasibility%20Survey%20public%20comment%20period>

Detailed Information

Section I: Description, Explanation, and Purpose


At the request of the GNSO Council<http://gnso.icann.org/resolutions/#201104>, 
ICANN engaged the Interisle Consulting Group to conduct an independent 
third-party WHOIS Privacy and Proxy Relay/Reveal Survey to gather, analyze, and 
present data that might allow the ICANN community to determine the feasibility 
of launching a full study and inform the design and conduct of a full study 
(should one be undertaken).

Specifically, this survey assessed the willingness and ability of request 
originators, Privacy/Proxy providers, Registrars and other interested parties 
to participate in and provide data to a full study, identified factors that 
would promote or inhibit participation in a full study, and offered individuals 
and organizations who might be willing to participate in a full study an 
opportunity to identify themselves.

This draft report presents the questions posed by this multi-lingual on-line 
survey, responses supplied by 168 survey respondents, input obtained through 
follow-up interviews, and the research team's analysis, conclusions, and 
recommendations about concerning a possible full study.

The GNSO Council is now seeking community review and feedback on the draft 
report. The purpose of this Public Comment period is to ensure that survey 
results have been communicated clearly and to solicit feedback on the goals and 
nature of a full study of Relay and Reveal requests (if any) that could be 
feasible, given the findings provided by this survey report. The draft report 
and supporting appendices can be accessed here:
·        WHOIS Proxy/Privacy Reveal & Relay Feasibility Survey Draft 
Report<http://gnso.icann.org/issues/whois/whois-pp-survey-draft-report-31may12-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 2.12 MB]
·        WHOIS Proxy/Privacy Reveal & Relay Feasibility Survey Draft Report 
Appendices<http://gnso.icann.org/issues/whois/whois-pp-survey-draft-report-appendices-31may12-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 1.19 MB]

Section II: Background


As part of a broader effort to develop a comprehensive understanding of the 
gTLD WHOIS system, the GNSO Council has expressed an interest in conducting an 
in-depth study ("full study") that would analyze Relay and Reveal requests sent 
for Privacy and Proxy-registered domain names. At the GNSO's request, ICANN 
issued an RFP in September 2010 which detailed a full study to explore and 
analyze a sample of Relay and Reveal requests sent for Privacy/Proxy-registered 
domain names to document how they are processed and identify factors that may 
promote or impede timely communication and resolution. The highly diverse and 
distributed nature of these practices has made it difficult to assess the 
effectiveness of related policies. The study's stated objective was therefore 
to help the ICANN community better understand how communication Relay and 
identity Reveal requests sent for Privacy/Proxy-registered domain names are 
actually being handled.

To some, such a study might be highly desirable, if not essential. However, RFP 
responses revealed concerns about how such a study could be carried out or even 
if it could yield meaningful results. It was not clear what data (if any) could 
be made available to a study team; which entities could provide that data (and 
on what basis); what levels of participation would be forthcoming from key 
groups and other members of the community; or how to design and carry out a 
study so that it was likely to be successful. ICANN staff therefore recommended 
that a survey be conducted first, to determine the feasibility of conducting a 
full study. The GNSO Council authorized a survey to determine whether or not a 
full study would be feasible, under what conditions or limitations, and how 
likely it would be to obtain broad participation from Relay and Reveal 
initiators and responders. Results of this feasibility Survey, conducted 
independently by Interisle, are the subject of this draft report.

Section III: Document and Resource Links

1.     WHOIS Proxy/Privacy Reveal & Relay Feasibility Survey Draft 
Report<http://gnso.icann.org/issues/whois/whois-pp-survey-draft-report-31may12-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 2.12 MB]
2.     WHOIS Proxy/Privacy Reveal & Relay Feasibility Survey Draft Report 
Appendices<http://gnso.icann.org/issues/whois/whois-pp-survey-draft-report-appendices-31may12-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 1.19 MB]
3.     WHOIS Privacy/Proxy Relay & Reveal Studies 
RFP<http://gnso.icann.org/issues/whois/whois-proxy-privacy-relay-reveal-studies-rfp-29sep10-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 81 KB]
4.     Report to the GNSO Council on WHOIS Privacy and Proxy Relay & Reveal 
studies<http://gnso.icann.org/issues/whois/whois-pp-relay-reveal-studies-report-11feb11-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 247 KB]
5.     gTLD WHOIS Privacy and Proxy Relay and Reveal Survey Now 
Live<http://blog.icann.org/2011/09/gtld-whois-privacy-and-proxy-relay-and-reveal-survey-now-live/>

Section IV: Additional Information

Additional WHOIS studies are now being conducted at the request of the GNSO 
Council, as summarized by: http://gnso.icann.org/issues/whois/




(*) Comments submitted after the posted Close Date/Time are not guaranteed to 
be considered in any final summary, analysis, reporting, or decision-making 
that takes place once this period lapses.


Glen de Saint Géry
GNSO Secretariat
gnso.secretariat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://gnso.icann.org