Copyright 2000 Newsday, Inc.
Newsday (New York, NY)
November 16, 2000, Thursday ALL EDITIONS
SECTION: BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY; Page A67
LENGTH: 505 words
HEADLINE:
TRADING PRIVACY FOR A WEB SITE / ADVOCATES WORRY THAT PERSONAL INFORMATION IS
TOO EASILY ACCESSIBLE
BYLINE: THE ASSOCIATED
PRESS
BODY:
Marina Del Rey, Calif.-As
more individuals build their own Web sites, some privacy advocates are
questioning requirements that the site owners disclose their personal contact
information.
Names, e-mail addresses, postal addresses and telephone
numbers for more than 24 million domain names are stored in databases called
Whois. The information is available to anyone connected to the Internet. It's
like a global phone directory, critics suggest, but without the option for an
unlisted number. "Sacrificing your privacy should not be a condition of access
to the domain space," said Alan Davidson, staff counsel with the Center for
Democracy and Technology.
Most people may not care and would list their
contact information anyway, just like most telephone customers now list their
numbers. But Davidson said Internet users ought to have a choice - for instance,
they may want to stay anonymous if they are human rights advocates and other
dissidents fearful of repercussion from oppressive governments.
Ellen
Rony, author of, "The Domain Name Handbook," said she knew of someone stalked
based on information from the databases.
On the other hand, she said,
the tool proves helpful for researchers to gauge the origins and veracity of Web
sites, and the stalking incident appears an aberration.
"I can see both
sides," she said.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers, which oversees the master record keeper of Web addresses and the domain
registration companies, currently requires disclosure of contact information for
holders of .com, . net and .org names.
Andrew McLaughlin, the
international corporation's chief policy officer, said the group may revisit
Whois policies next year, but it is not on the agenda for its annual meeting
this week.
Part of the drive comes from the European Union, which passed
a law prohibiting the transfer of data to the United States and other non-EU
countries that don't meet EU standards for protecting personal information.
Whois databases can be used for many purposes, experts point out.
Registration companies offer access to the databases in order to let
users determine whether the domain names they want are available. But when a
name is taken, the registrar often links to the records for that name as well.
The idea is to help users contact the name's owner for possible
purchase, even though the databases originally helped computer administrators
contact one another when networks go awry.
Lawyers also use the
databases to check on names that may tread on their clients' trademark rights.
Steven J. Metalitz, vice president for the International Intellectual Property
Alliance, said such open access is important to deter abusers.
"It's the
model that's out there," said John Kane, head of a marketing task force for
Afilias, which is seeking a .web suffix. "It's a public resource. You don't own
a domain name. You own the right to use it."
LOAD-DATE: November 16, 2000
