Re: [At-Large] Fwd: Re: Response on GAC principles Whois ?
On that topic, we have three candidate ALSes who are national
consumer groups and they could be particularly useful here.
I will try and source the email address of their GAC representatives
for them.
On 19 Feb 2007, at 10:42, Vittorio Bertola wrote:
> All,
>
> on another mailing list, this draft of GAC principles about Whois was
> circulated. I find it horrible, starting from the extensive definition
> of uses, that says that Whois is there to help people fight against
> "theft of intellectual property".
>
> It looks that the GAC is asking for comment to consumer groups, so
> while
> we as the ALAC/RALOs are not entitled to interfere with the work of
> the
> GAC, any ALS could get in touch with the GAC representative from their
> country and provide an opinion in defense of the registrants' privacy.
>
> More comments interspersed below.
>
> Michiel Leenaars ha scritto:
>> GAC PRINCIPLES REGARDING USES OF WHOIS DATA
>>
>> Presented by the Governmental Advisory Committee
>> March 29, 2007
>>
>> Preamble
>>
>> 1.1 The purpose of this document is to identify a set of general
>> public policy principles related to the generic top level domain
>> (gTLD)
>> WHOIS service, in line with the recommendations of the Tunis
>> Agenda of
>> the World Summit on the Information Society in November, 2005.
>>
>> 1.2Individual GAC members have consulted with privacy, law
>> enforcement,
>> consumer and intellectual property protection bodies in their
>> governments.
>>
>> Objective of this document
>>
>> 2.1These principles are intended to guide the work within ICANN
>> pertaining to the WHOIS service and to inform the ICANN Board of the
>> consensus views of the GAC regarding the range of public policy
>> uses of
>> WHOIS data.
>>
>> Public Policy Aspects of WHOIS Data
>>
>> 3.1 The GAC recognizes that the original function of the gTLD WHOIS
>> service, a directory database of resources and users connected to the
>> network, has evolved as the Internet has expanded and now serves a
>> number of legitimate uses, including, but not limited to:
>>
>> 1.Supporting Internet network operators responsible for the
>> operation,
>> security, and stability of the Internet;
>>
>> 2.Allowing users to determine the availability of domain names;
>>
>> 3.Assisting law enforcement agencies in investigations and in
>> enforcing national and international laws and supporting
>> international
>> cooperation procedures;
>>
>> 4.Facilitating enquiries and subsequent steps to conduct trademark
>> clearances and to counter intellectual property infringement, misuse
>> and theft;
>
> ..apart from the use of the term "theft", which, today, only the
> really
> hard pro-intellectual property people use, of course by saying that
> Whois is there to help IP owners, you give for granted that IP owners
> have the right to have access to the personal information of whoever
> creates a website, and I don't like this.
>
>>
>> 5.Building user confidence in the Internet and e-commerce by helping
>> users identify contact details of entities online; and
>>
>> 6.Assisting businesses, financial institutions, and other
>> organizations
>> in protecting their business interests, combating fraud, complying
>> with
>> relevant laws, and safeguarding the interests of their customers and
>> consumers.
>>
>>
>> 3.2The GAC also recognizes that there are concerns about abuses of
>> WHOIS data, which are contrary to the provisions of the Universal
>> Declaration of Human Rights.
>
> This is really dangerous; it seems to imply that the only concerns are
> about the abuses of data, e.g. if someone is in direct risk of
> retribution for, say, publishing opinions on the Web that do not
> please
> their government. This paragraph seems carefully built to promote
> one of
> the proposals currently under examination by ICANN's GNSO, the one
> that
> says that you would be allowed to keep your data private only if you
> could prove that you are under a clear and direct risk created by that
> publication. The European approach is exactly the opposite; your data
> should remain private unless there is a clear reason to disclose them.
> There should be a recognition of the fact that under many legislations
> users have a natural right not to disclose their information without
> their consensus. It's not just about abuse.
>
>> 4.1The GAC believes the definition, purpose, and operation of gTLD
>> WHOIS services should reflect and respect the different interests and
>> concerns of legitimate users of WHOIS data, as outlined in Section 3
>> above. In addition, gTLD WHOIS services should utilize appropriate
>> conditions and procedures intended to promote legitimate uses, and
>> must
>> comply with applicable national laws and regulations.
>
> Again, this para talks about "promoting legitimate use" (eg,
> facilitating IP owners and businesses in accessing your data), but
> does
> not mention the concerns of the *owners* of WHOIS data. In fact, is
> there any mention of the rights and needs of the owners of the
> personal
> information anywhere in this document?
>
>> 4.2The GAC also believes that the managers of WHOIS data services
>> should provide accurate and complete data about domain name
>> registrants
>> in a manner that:
>>
>> 1. Supports the stability and security of the Internet, from both a
>> technical and public trust perspective; and
>>
>> 2. Facilitates continued, timely and global access to accurate WHOIS
>> data.
>
> ..and again, the focus is only on ensuring that personal
> information is
> readily accessible. No mention, for example, of the fact that the
> managers of Whois should allow data owners to effectively enforce
> their
> rights, such as right to update and to removal.
>
>> 5.1Recommendations for Industry Action
>>
>> 1. The GAC encourages stakeholders to work with ICANN to improve the
>> accuracy of WHOIS data, and in particular, to take action to
>> reduce the
>> incidence of deliberately false WHOIS data.
>
> ..and again...
>
>> 2.The GAC strongly urges ICANN to work with stakeholders to conduct a
>> study of the characteristics of domain name registrants, as a first
>> step toward determining: whether and how WHOIS data is misused;
>
> (which implies, if there are no misuses of Whois data then you should
> lose your right to privacy of your information; again, the approach is
> reverted - according to this document, it's not people that want your
> data that have to explain why, it's you that have to justify why you
> want to keep your privacy)
>
>> how
>> to prevent the abuse or criminal use of WHOIS data, without
>> compromising access to the data for legitimate purposes;
>
> ..and again...
>
>> and to
>> facilitate the adoption of technical and procedural measures aimed at
>> identifying emerging practices that could be considered misuse or
>> abuse
>> and bring them to the attention of the public.
>
> All in all, this draft seems written by a control freak that sees
> domain
> names as a mass surveillance tool over what people do and say over the
> Internet, or by the lawyers of the RIAA. Maybe I am overreacting, but
> I've rarely seen such a privacy-unfriendly document about Whois, and I
> am astonished that the European government representatives would even
> consider discussing on these bases.
> --
> vb. Vittorio Bertola - vb [a] bertola.eu <--------
> --------> finally with a new website at http://bertola.eu/ <--------
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> ALAC mailing list
> ALAC@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> http://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/alac_atlarge-
> lists.icann.org
>
> www.alac.icann.org
> www.icannalac.org
_______________________________________________
ALAC mailing list
ALAC@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/alac_atlarge-lists.icann.org
www.alac.icann.org
www.icannalac.org