Under the current Whois rules, those wishing to register a domain name must provide their real name and contact information, which in turn becomes available for query by the general public. While some domain registrars offer private Whois registrations, for all intents and purposes Whois requires that all website owners disclose their identity and contact information online.
The endorsed proposal, which was six years in the making, would allow domain name registrants to list third-party contact information rather than provide their own names, phone numbers, email addresses and physical locations.
“At the end of the day, they are not going to have personal contact information on public display,”' said Ross Rader, a task force member and director of retail services for registration company Tucows Inc. “That's the big change for domain name owners.”
But the proposed change has some worried that copyright violators, scam artists and cybersquatters will use the third-party rule to further insulate themselves from justice and accountability.
“It would just make it that much more difficult and costly to find out who's behind a name,” said Miriam Karlin, manager of legal affairs for International Data Group Inc.
Karlin said she uses Whois searches daily to find copyright and trademark violators.
ICANN is expected to hold hearings on the endorsed plan next week at its Lisbon meeting.
The endorsed plan could take several more months or years to adopt as ICANN hammers out the finer details and critics such as Karlin weigh in on the new Whois protocol.