Intellectual Property Owners Lobby For Better Whois Database [...]

📅 July 13, 2001 - Internet domain name sellers should be forced by Congress to keep better public records of Web site ownership, members of the business community told a congressional panel yesterday.
Copyright owners and trademark holders represented by two groups told the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property that a thorough and precise whois database is necessary to protect against piracy and IP theft. While for years whois domain registration has made it possible for Internet users to find basic contact information for IP owners, advocates would like to ensure that the data is more accurate. Many Web site owners submit false information to domain name sellers, who are required by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to supply it.
Intellectual property owners are concerned that the problem will get worse with the influx of Web sites made possible by new top-level domains.
Privacy advocates have argued, however, that releasing personally identifiable information for public viewing compromises the privacy of Web address owners. Not only can it make them targets of unsolicited marketing campaigns, it may even jeopardize their safety by availing their addresses to stalkers and criminals.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center suggested to the committee that anonymity should be the default option. Representatives of the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition countered that the need for accountability is greater than the address holders? individual right to privacy.
After the hearing, Subcommittee Chairman Howard Coble seemed to be in favor of strengthening the whois database, and would consider sending his recommendations to ICANN.