Domain privacy
Encyclopedia
Domain privacy is a service offered by a number of domain name registrar
s. 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".
Note some domain extensions have privacy caveats:
) broadly requires that the mail
ing 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. Although ICANN
has been exploring changing WHOIS
to enable greater privacy, there is a lack of consensus among major stakeholders as to what type of change should be made.
In a trademark infringement case, a 2009 United States District Court
ruling in U.S.A. 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.
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. ICANN has since remedied that situation by requiring all accredited registrars maintain their customers' contact data in escrow. In the event a registrar loses its accreditation, gTLD domains along with the escrowed contact data will be transferred to another accredited registrar.
Domain name registrar
A domain name registrar is an organization or commercial entity, accredited by both ICANN and generic top-level domain registry to sell gTLDs and/or by a country code top-level domain registry to sell ccTLDs; to manage the reservation of Internet domain names in accordance with the guidelines of...
s. A user buys privacy from the company, who in turn replaces the user's info in the WHOIS
WHOIS
WHOIS is a query and response protocol that is widely used for querying databases that store the registered users or assignees of an Internet resource, such as a domain name, an IP address block, or an autonomous system, but is also used for a wider range of other information. The protocol stores...
with the info of a forwarding service (for email and sometimes postal mail, done by a proxy server
Proxy server
In computer networks, a proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource available from a different server...
) such as "Domains by Proxy, Inc.
Domains by Proxy
Domains by Proxy is an Internet company owned by Go Daddy CEO Bob Parsons. It offers domain privacy services through partner domain registrars such as Go Daddy and Wild West Domains....
" or eNom
ENom
eNom, Inc. is a domain name registrar and Web hosting company that also sells other products closely tied to domain names, such as SSL certificates, e-mail services, and Website building software...
's "Whois Privacy Protection Service".
Level of anonymity
- Personal information is typically collected by these registrars to provide the service. And to some, registrars like Domains by ProxyDomains by ProxyDomains by Proxy is an Internet company owned by Go Daddy CEO Bob Parsons. It offers domain privacy services through partner domain registrars such as Go Daddy and Wild West Domains....
take little persuasion to release so-called 'private' information to the world, requiring only a phone request or cease and desistCease and desistA cease and desist is an order or request to halt an activity and not to take it up again later or else face legal action. The recipient of the cease-and-desist may be an individual or an organization....
letter. - Others, however, treat privacy more seriously, and host domain names offshore, even using e-goldE-golde-gold is a digital gold currency operated by Gold & Silver Reserve Inc. under e-gold Ltd., and allowed the instant transfer of gold ownership between users until 2009 when transfers were suspended due to legal issues. e-gold Ltd...
or money orderMoney orderA money order is a payment order for a pre-specified amount of money. Because it is required that the funds be prepaid for the amount shown on it, it is a more trusted method of payment than a cheque.-History of money orders:...
s 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).
Note some domain extensions have privacy caveats:
- In March 2005, the National Telecommunications and Information AdministrationNational Telecommunications and Information AdministrationThe National Telecommunications and Information Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce that serves as the President's principal adviser on telecommunications policies pertaining to the United States' economic and technological advancement and to regulation of the...
(NTIA) has said that all owners of .us.us.us is the Internet country code top-level domain for the United States and was established in 1985. Registrants of .us domains must be United States citizens, residents, or organizations, or a foreign entity with a presence in the United States...
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.ca.ca is the Internet country code top-level domain for Canada. The domain name registry that operates it is the Canadian Internet Registration Authority . Registrants of .ca domains must meet the Canadian Presence Requirements as defined by the registry...
domains.
The need for privacy
Currently the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANNICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a non-profit corporation headquartered in Marina del Rey, California, United States, that was created on September 18, 1998, and incorporated on September 30, 1998 to oversee a number of Internet-related tasks previously performed directly...
) broadly requires that the mail
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
ing address
Address (geography)
An address is a collection of information, presented in a mostly fixed format, used for describing the location of a building, apartment, or other structure or a plot of land, generally using political boundaries and street names as references, along with other identifiers such as house or...
, phone number and e-mail address
E-mail address
An email address identifies an email box to which email messages are delivered. An example format of an email address is lewis@example.net which is read as lewis at example dot net...
of those owning/managing a domain name to be made publicly available through the "WHOIS
WHOIS
WHOIS is a query and response protocol that is widely used for querying databases that store the registered users or assignees of an Internet resource, such as a domain name, an IP address block, or an autonomous system, but is also used for a wider range of other information. The protocol stores...
" directories. However, that policy enables spammers, direct marketers, identity thieves, or other attackers to loot the directory for personal information about these people. Although ICANN
ICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a non-profit corporation headquartered in Marina del Rey, California, United States, that was created on September 18, 1998, and incorporated on September 30, 1998 to oversee a number of Internet-related tasks previously performed directly...
has been exploring changing WHOIS
WHOIS
WHOIS is a query and response protocol that is widely used for querying databases that store the registered users or assignees of an Internet resource, such as a domain name, an IP address block, or an autonomous system, but is also used for a wider range of other information. The protocol stores...
to enable greater privacy, there is a lack of consensus among major stakeholders as to what type of change should be made.
Litigation
With "private registration", the private registration service can be the legal owner of the domain. This has occasionally resulted in legal problems. Ownership of a domain name is given by the organization name of the owner contact in the domain's Whois record. There are typically four contact positions in a domain's Whois record, Owner, Administrator, Billing, and Technical. Some registrars will not shield the Owner organization name in order to protect the ownership of the domain name.In a trademark infringement case, a 2009 United States District Court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
ruling in U.S.A. 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.
Ownership of domains held by a privacy service was also an issue in the RegisterFly
RegisterFly
RegisterFly was a New Jersey based internet hosting and domain name registrar that had their ICANN-accredited status terminated in March 2007.-History:...
case, in which a registrar effectively ceased operations and then went bankrupt. Customers encountered
serious difficulties in regaining control of the domains involved. ICANN has since remedied that situation by requiring all accredited registrars maintain their customers' contact data in escrow. In the event a registrar loses its accreditation, gTLD domains along with the escrowed contact data will be transferred to another accredited registrar.
External links
- WHOIS Task Force 2 -- Proxy Registration (and related) Services (contains a list of services)
- Domain owners lose privacy — Wired NewsWired NewsWired News is an online technology news website, formerly known as HotWired, that split off from Wired magazine when the magazine was purchased by Condé Nast Publishing in the 1990s. Wired News was owned by Lycos not long after the split, until Condé Nast purchased Wired News on July 11, 2006...
article about .us domains