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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: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 21 2018, @10:03PM (6 children)
The fact that it's the MPAA whining leads me to believe that removing WHOIS privacy would be very detrimental to the public and that the last thing it would do is advance privacy.
This ranks right up there with Facebook's "improve your privacy by sending us all your nude photos" nonsense.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 21 2018, @10:20PM (1 child)
Well, not only do I want nude photos, I also want PET scans and DNA, but send the nudies first. It's for your own good, trust me.
I agree with the MPAA. Make all this shit public to light a fire under some engineer's ass to develop a suitable ad hoc networking scheme. When are we gonna get bulletproof P2P??
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 21 2018, @10:26PM
https://www.brinks.com/en/ [brinks.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 22 2018, @12:03AM (2 children)
This ranks right up there with "rape cures AIDS".
(Score: 1) by anubi on Thursday November 22 2018, @02:17AM (1 child)
Anubi : Eliminating copyright will eliminate piracy.
Duhhh...
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 4, Touché) by maxwell demon on Thursday November 22 2018, @05:18AM
Yeah, absolutely. If copyright was abolished, why would anyone ever rob a ship again? :-)
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 23 2018, @11:56AM
Post the private contact details of MPAA employees?
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Wednesday November 21 2018, @10:23PM (6 children)
War is Peace [gutenberg.net.au]
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 4, Funny) by SpockLogic on Wednesday November 21 2018, @10:31PM
True
... and in other news "Water is wet".
Overreacting is one thing, sticking your head up your ass hoping the problem goes away is another - edIII
(Score: 2, Funny) by Ethanol-fueled on Thursday November 22 2018, @01:17AM (4 children)
Europe believes in privacy, unless it's the privacy of your wife getting gang-raped by filthy African subhumans. Western Europe has the most puzzlingly inconsistent priorities, and that is no surprise given that it is run by Germany and Germans are by far the most autistic of the Europeans, even moreso than the Portuguese. You can almost see Otto lecturing the refugee who just broke into his house for being 32 seconds late for nightly wife-rape.
Yep, Mexicans and other nonwhites are late for pretty much fucking everything.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 22 2018, @02:18AM (2 children)
What the fuck is wrong with you?
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 22 2018, @04:55AM
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 22 2018, @03:17PM
he's like a crazy religious guy that tries to mix in how jesus died on a cross and you are a sinner that requires salvation into about every conversation the moment there is even the tiniest of openings that may not even be related to sinning, crosses, or jesus, or religion, philosophy, politics, money, or sex.
except he's not religious and doesn't mention crosses or jesus. instead he expresses his concerns that people he finds attractive are not interested in him.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 23 2018, @11:54AM
This is the most insightful comment ever posted on SN
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 21 2018, @10:42PM (2 children)
Let's see ... making more data available to a litigious lobbying group so they can abuse it? The same people who hide behind the corporate shield and casually file DMCA takedown notices just to stay in practice? The same people who are just one level above Prenda Law? I'll have to think about that and get back to you.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 22 2018, @12:58AM (1 child)
Its hollywood. What do you expect? They are people who play pretend all the time. Then act surprised when we call them out on their 24/7 river of lies.
Remember the narcissist always lies. Even when they do not need to.
In good news David Prowse can finally be paid. https://qz.com/1169393/disneys-star-wars-films-have-earned-more-than-lucasfim-was-bought-for/ [qz.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 22 2018, @10:58AM
Are you a narcissist? I need to know to be able to accurately process your statement.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by edIII on Thursday November 22 2018, @12:42AM (1 child)
What they really meant was, "it's a financial burden for us to perform discovery on each and every domain name using the established policies and procedures, and then following due process in the relevant jurisdictions".
I have domains. They were private before. If you wanted to contact me just based off the domain, which has a real phone number listed anyways if you looked hard enough, a lawfirm is contacted instead. They are paid by me (indirectly) to forward such requests for communication. I would believe that if a legal summons of some sort were made and sent to them, they would be legally obligated to inform me of it. So saying that they cannot get ahold of me is bullshit. Saying they can't file a court case and remove my privacy with due process is bullshit.
This is about being able to mass threaten entire groups of people with threats of litigation on the cheap.
If you don't mind filing some court papers and sending subpoena to the right entities, it's relatively straightforward to legally deal with an anonymous website owner.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 22 2018, @11:02AM
FTFY
Sincerely,
<name of law enforcement agency here>
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Entropy on Thursday November 22 2018, @04:50AM
If the MPAA wants it, then we don't.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday November 22 2018, @05:42AM
Whenever I register a new domain I get cold calls soliciting me to pay them to build my website.
Wanting to be as cruel as possible, I always tell them that "I hired your friendly competitor who called me last week".
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 22 2018, @09:23AM (2 children)
I am using whois guard. Does this means whois guard will soon be pointless?
Anonymity does not necessarily mean doing something nefarious. For example, I have a fan site that is simply embarassing if my friends/colleagues knew I was behind it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 22 2018, @11:04AM
I don't think you have anything to worry about. There are too many people much more powerful than you or I that have similar worries.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 26 2018, @08:45PM
Curiosity has gotten the better of me. What is the site, or at least what is it a fan site for? My first guess is Twilight.
(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