[nc-whois] Contribution Of Globally, Publicly Accessible WHOIS Information To Identity Theft And Other Fraud

[Ruchika Agrawal <agrawal@epic.org>]

Dear All:

Here are the paragraphs on the contribution of globally, publicly
accessible WHOIS information to identity theft and other fraud:

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) plays a critical role both in the investigation of consumer fraud and in the protection of consumers from fraud.  According to the FTC’s website, “The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them.” [See, for example, http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/online/dontharvest.htm]

In this vein, the FTC advises consumers not to disclose personal information, and if consumers choose to disclose personal information, they should know who is collecting the information, why the information is being collected, and how it is going to be used.   Not only does the global, public accessibility of WHOIS data contradict FTC’s advice, but the consumer, as a domain name registrant, is stripped of these abilities, as the registrant has no way of knowing who collected his/her WHOIS data, why the information was collected, and how the collector intends to use the information.   Further yet, with the enforcement of the accuracy of WHOIS data, as is recommended by the WHOIS Task Force, consumers will not even have a choice on whether to disclose their personal information.  The alternative to relinquish a domain name is not giving consumers a genuine choice, and instead infringes on Internet free speech.

The global, public accessibility of WHOIS data imposes risks on domain name registrants, and may contribute to identify theft as well as other fraud.  The FTC’s guidelines in their effort to safeguard consumer privacy are applicable to the protection of domain name registrants; these safeguards should be appropriately enforced.

Regards,
Ruchika