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<div>Interesting critical contribution concerning WHOIS PRIVACY etc. by Valentina Pavel, EDRi member ApTI, Romania for the monthly EDR-Briefing</div>
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<div>Best, Oliver Passek</div>
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<div> ICANN considers banning privacy services<br/>
=======================================================================<br/>
<br/>
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is<br/>
proposing a new Internet policy which comes at the expense of human<br/>
rights, especially privacy and freedom of speech. The proposed rules are<br/>
addressed to companies that provide WHOIS privacy/proxy services (which<br/>
restrict access to domain registrant information) and limit their<br/>
availability to individuals only, denying this service to organisations.<br/>
<br/>
Why is this a problem?<br/>
<br/>
When you register a domain on the Internet, you are asked for a set of<br/>
information which will appear in the WHOIS database – a public registry<br/>
with all the domain names.<br/>
<br/>
Under the terms of the ICANN proposal, domain name registrants who will<br/>
register commercial sites will not have the possibility to make the<br/>
registration via companies that offer the service of de-listing personal<br/>
information from the WHOIS registry. This policy would be unfair and<br/>
discriminatory for vulnerable groups, organisations and entrepreneurs<br/>
who wish to exercise their right to freedom of expression on the<br/>
Internet. Is it even in ICANN's remit to decide what is a commercial<br/>
activity and what is not? And what is a commercial site? Is it a<br/>
non-governmental organisation (NGO) selling personalised merchandise via<br/>
a commercial site? What about a humanitarian website asking for<br/>
donations? Or a blog that sells advertisement space?<br/>
<br/>
It is important to understand that there are actors such as political<br/>
groups, religious organisations, ethnic groups, gender orientation<br/>
groups, and others engaged in freedom of expression activities who have<br/>
a clear need for protection.<br/>
<br/>
EDRi member ApTI has prepared a comment for ICANN's public consultation<br/>
expressing firm disapproval regarding the proposal. Below are some of<br/>
the reasons why greater confidentiality and privacy are needed in the<br/>
WHOIS directory:<br/>
<br/>
1. ICANN’s anti privacy domain registration = the new Stop Online Piracy<br/>
Act (SOPA)<br/>
<br/>
The copyright industry's pressure on ICANN to take action against<br/>
domains being used for infringing purposes is well known. However, the<br/>
domain name industry should not be asked to play any part in policing<br/>
the Internet by being forced to suspend Internet domain names based on<br/>
accusations of copyright or trademark infringement by a website. The<br/>
effort to restrict the privacy of domain name registrants is part of<br/>
this wider lobbying effort to push ICANN into an enforcement role.<br/>
<br/>
2. Privacy and anonymity are fundamental for the open use of the Internet<br/>
<br/>
The argument that criminals use proxy and privacy registrations to hide<br/>
their identities has been intensively used in the WHOIS privacy debate.<br/>
However, illegal uses represent a small minority of cases and privacy<br/>
registrations do not contribute to a wide-spread criminal behaviour. The<br/>
vast majority of domain owners are not criminals, so why put everyone at<br/>
risk just for catching few perpetrators? This measure is<br/>
disproportionate and unjustified and it resembles the deeply flawed<br/>
reasoning behind adopting mass surveillance decisions.<br/>
<br/>
3. The proposal violates the Internet’s core values<br/>
<br/>
The proposal closes up the free and open use of the Internet. Certain<br/>
categories of people will be left with no guarantees that their message<br/>
will be delivered without abuse and repercussions. Website owners with<br/>
less popular content or presenting dissident views will fear becoming<br/>
easy targets. With their sensitive data displayed in the public<br/>
registry, more and more people will refrain from making their voice<br/>
heard online. Self-censorship is not going to contribute to a free and<br/>
open Internet.<br/>
<br/>
Several privacy campaigns opposing ICANN's proposal, such as<br/>
<a href="http://savedomainprivacy.org/" target="_blank">savedomainprivacy.org</a> and <a href="http://respectourprivacy.com/" target="_blank">respectourprivacy.com</a>, were launched, and a<br/>
total of 11510 comments were sent to the public consultation. The<br/>
comments are publicly available and a report based on the inputs<br/>
received is expected on 21 July 2015.<br/>
<br/>
ApTI's full comment for ICANN's public consultation (07.07.2015)<br/>
<a href="http://www.apti.ro/sites/default/files/WHOISprivacy-ICANNpubliccomment7JULY2015_0.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.apti.ro/sites/default/files/WHOISprivacy-ICANNpubliccomment7JULY2015_0.pdf</a><br/>
<br/>
ICANN: Initial Report on the Privacy & Proxy Services Accreditation<br/>
Issues Policy Development Process (05.05.2015)<br/>
<a href="https://gnso.icann.org/en/issues/raa/ppsai-initial-05may15-en.pdf" target="_blank">https://gnso.icann.org/en/issues/raa/ppsai-initial-05may15-en.pdf</a><br/>
<br/>
Save domain privacy<br/>
<a href="https://www.savedomainprivacy.org/with-without-privacy/" target="_blank">https://www.savedomainprivacy.org/with-without-privacy/</a><br/>
<br/>
Changes to domain name rules place user privacy in jeopardy (23.06.2015)<br/>
<a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/06/changes-domain-name-rules-place-user-privacy-jeopardy" target="_blank">https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/06/changes-domain-name-rules-place-user-privacy-jeopardy</a><br/>
<br/>
MPAA & RIAA demand DNS action against "pirate" domains (14.05.2015)<br/>
<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-riaa-demand-dns-action-against-pirate-domains-150514/" target="_blank">https://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-riaa-demand-dns-action-against-pirate-domains-150514/</a><br/>
<br/>
GNSO privacy & proxy services accreditation issues working group initial<br/>
report (05.05.0215)<br/>
<a href="https://www.icann.org/public-comments/ppsai-initial-2015-05-05-en" target="_blank">https://www.icann.org/public-comments/ppsai-initial-2015-05-05-en</a><br/>
<br/>
Comments to the public consultation<br/>
<a href="https://forum.icann.org/lists/comments-ppsai-initial-05may15/threads.html" target="_blank">https://forum.icann.org/lists/comments-ppsai-initial-05may15/threads.html</a><br/>
<br/>
(Contribution by Valentina Pavel, EDRi member ApTI, Romania)<br/>
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