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MPAA: Making All Domain WHOIS Data Public Will Advance Privacy
Anti-piracy groups witnessed their work becoming more complicated this year after the EU's new privacy regulations limited access to domain name WHOIS data. This measure is supposed to increase privacy for registrants but in a submission to the US Government, Hollywood's MPAA stresses that restoring full access increases the privacy of the public at large.
A few weeks ago, the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), asked the public for input on ways to improve consumer privacy. [...] The request came a few months after the EU's new privacy regulation, the GDPR, was implemented. The GDPR requires many online services and tools to tighten their privacy policies, which also affects domain registrars.
As of June 2018, ICANN implemented a temporary measure to restrict access to personal data that would previously have been available through WHOIS, unless explicit permission is given. A welcome privacy change to many domain registrants, but anti-piracy groups are not happy. While the limited WHOIS data is supposed to improve user privacy, the MPAA tells the NTIA that the opposite is true. They believe that opening it up again "will advance privacy while protecting prosperity and innovation," in line with NTIA's aims.
[...] The MPAA says that when it comes to WHOIS data, sharing more personal data in public – as it was in the past – benefits the public at large. Sharing personal data of all website owners allows visitors to check who they are dealing with. "Users are not 'reasonably informed' or 'empowered to meaningfully express privacy preferences' if they cannot determine the entity behind a website," the MPAA explains. [...] Concerns about limited WHOIS data are not new. Previously, a group of 50 organizations warned that it makes pirates harder to catch, which is of course the MPAA's main stake in the matter.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bradley13 on Thursday November 22 2018, @09:23AM (3 children)
Domain registrations are, in a very real sense, the Internet equivalent of property ownership. If you own "woof.com", that's the e-equivalent of owning the lot at the corner of 1st and Main. There is a public interest in knowing who owns what property, and in being able to contact the owner for various reasons. There are lots of reasons why you might want or need to contacts the owner of a domain. Property owners (be it physical property or domain names) should be required to keep correct information in the registry.
The problem with the MPAA is different: screwed up copyright law. Sure, they would use accurate WHOIS information to harass people - but that's a reason to fix copyright law, not to allow false or hidden registry information.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 22 2018, @04:36PM
Except that you don't have property rights over domain names. They regularly get seized for various reasons that would never be acceptable for real property.
At best, "owning" a domain name is analogous to renting a house. Not only can the government seize it, but the party that's registering it for you can take it back if you violate their rules rather than just the law.
We don't force renters to disclose their names publicly, so, we really need some sort of compelling reason to believe that it's necessary for the registrations to be public.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by dry on Friday November 23 2018, @12:54AM (1 child)
Lots of properties are owned by numbered companies with nothing but a PO box for contact info around here. You want to contact them and they don't want to respond, well good luck unless they're legally required to respond.
As usual, the wealthy have no problem maintaining anonymity from the common folk if they choose.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 23 2018, @11:52AM
This is turning into a serious problem in Australia where drug dealers were paying for a house with a suitcase of cash and chinese were snapping up apartments by the building