Domain privacy

Domain privacy is a service offered by a number of domain name registrars. A user buys privacy from the company, who in turn replaces the user's info in the WHOIS with the info of a forwarding service (for email and sometimes postal mail, done by a Proxy server) such as "Domains by Proxy, Inc." or eNom's "Whois Privacy Protection Service".

However, this is not true anonymity:

• Personal information is typically collected by these registrars to provide the service. And to some, registrars like Domains by Proxy take little persuasion to release so-called 'private' information to the world, requiring only a phone request or cease and desist letter.^[1][2][3]
• Others, however, treat privacy more seriously, and host domain names offshore, even using e-gold or money orders in transactions so that the registrar has no knowledge of the personal information about the domain name owner in the first place (which would otherwise be transmitted along with credit card transactions).^[4][5]

Note some domain extensions have privacy caveats:

• In March 2005, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has said that all owners of .us domains will not have the option of keeping their information private, and that it must be made public.
• As of June 10, 2008, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority no longer posted registration details of individuals associated with .ca domains.

The need for privacy. Currently the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) broadly requires that the mailing address, phone number and e-mail address of those owning/managing a domain name to be made publicly available through the "WHOIS" directories. However, that policy enables spammers, direct marketers, identity thieves, or other attackers to loot the directory for personal information about these people. Plus it enables easy access to these personal details by anyone (as someone upset or concerned with the use of the domain, or just researching these people and names) regardless if this access is justified. Although ICANN has been exploring changing WHOIS to enable greater privacy, there is a lack of consensus between major stakeholders on what type of change this should be.

Litigation

With "private registration", the private registration service is the legal owner of the domain. This has occasionally resulted in legal problems.

In a trademark infringement case, a 2009 Federal District Court ruling held that, for domains with "private registration", the privacy service is legally the "owner" of the domain. The privacy service acts as the "cyber-landlord of the Internet real estate", and the domain is "licensed" to the customer of the privacy service.^[6]

Ownership of domains held by a privacy service was also an issue in the RegisterFly case, in which a registrar effectively ceased operations and then went bankrupt. Customers encountered serious difficulties in regaining control of the domains involved.^[7]

See also

• Privacy
• Anonymity

References

External links

• WHOIS Task Force 2 -- Proxy Registration (and related) Services (contains a list of services)
• Proxy registration providers
• Domain owners lose privacy — Wired News article about .us domains
• Whois Search

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