Re: [nc-whois] Fw: NEW! Go Daddy announces private, "unlisted" domain name registrations!

["Ram Mohan" <rmohan@afilias.info>]

team --
my short preamble seems to have evoked quick reactions -- what GoDaddy is
suggesting appears to be legal.  however, it does seem to me that the
original registrant is not represented in the WHOIS for the name paid for
and (potentially) operated by that registrant.

how is this is different from a reseller putting their information instead
of the registrants' information -- or a registrar inserting their own
information instead of the registrant's while submitting a registration?
some registrars do it today, and other registrars complain about it because
they consider it a way for registrars to block domain name transfers -
especially in the thin-registry CNO world.

i understand the argument about a company standing behind the proxy
registration -- in the case of GoDaddy, an established player with history
and strong foundations, this statement rings true.  However, it seems to me
that if a registrant wants to transfer a name, and their registrar says no,
the registrant cannot prove (to a registry, for example) that they are the
actual licensee of the domain name -- since the registry contract is with
the registrar, and (in this case) the registrar is also the registrant.
finally, if the registrar/reseller/intermediary is in a country with
different jurisdictional rights, access to the "real" information may now be
even more difficult.

i'm not a lawyer, but to me, it seems like there are opportunities for
companies to take advantage of this situation.  GoDaddy may not be such a
company (it is founded by Mr. Parsons, who has a storied and successful
business history) -- but should a registrar (or reseller or intermediary)
decide to not release a name for the purposes of transfer, the registrant is
left in a tough spot, especially if they have invested time and effort on
the domain name/web site.

some questions that have been raised in my mind, for instance:
1. what happens if the registrant decides not to renew the name upon its
expiry?  does the registrar have the right and ability then to renew for
their own account?
2. what happens if the registrant wants to transfer the name, but the
registrar does not follow the necessary procedures to ensure a timely
transfer?
3. what happens if the registrar offers this program to their
resellers/intermediaries -- each step covered by contract -- and there is
now 3 or 4 layers before you get to discover a registrant's id?
4. what are the implications on thick registries, such as .BIZ or .US, where
law enforcement is asking for direct access to all WHOIS information on a
variously searchable basis?

i have no doubt that some registrants will find this service valuable (as in
the cases mentioned below, as well as others) -- however, as the WHOIS task
force that is concerned about data accuracy and integrity (among other
things), it behooves us to look deeper into the ramifications of such a
move, rather than respond only to my pithy statement below.

-ram

----- Original Message -----
From: "Thomas Roessler" <roessler@does-not-exist.org>
To: "Ram Mohan" <rmohan@afilias.info>
Cc: <nc-whois@dnso.org>
Sent: Friday, September 20, 2002 1:04 PM
Subject: Re: [nc-whois] Fw: NEW! Go Daddy announces private, "unlisted"
domain name registrations!


> On 2002-09-20 12:42:57 -0400, Ram Mohan wrote:
>
> >   fyi - a direct attack on the integrity and accuracy of WHOIS data
>
> How that?  This is nothing else but the kind of third party services
> we are talking about in questions 18 and 19 of the survey.
>
> See also RAA, 3.7.7.3: Domains By Proxy, the formal Registered
> Domain Name Holder, will be liable for any harm unless it "promptly
> discloses the identity of the licensee to a party providing the
> Registered Domain Name Holder reasonable evidence of actionable
> harm."
>
> --
> Thomas Roessler                        <roessler@does-not-exist.org>
>