[bc-gnso] FW: [council] Public Comment: Draft Report on WHOIS Accuracy

Tue Feb 16 16:39:17 UTC 2010

Linked below is a very long-awaited report on WHOIS Accuracy.  Here are the
key findings from the Executive Summary:

[T]here were three criteria to be met for any WHOIS record to be considered
accurate: 

1.       Was the address of the registrant a valid mailing address? 

2.       Was the registrant named associated in some way with the given
address? 

3.       When contacted, would the named registrant acknowledge that they
were indeed the registrant of the domain name, and confirm all details given
as correct and current? 

An internationally representative sample of 1419 records was drawn from the
top five generic top level domains (gTLDs, covering .com, .org, .net. .info
and .biz). The address for each selected case was checked against postal
records and mapping data for deliverability, searches were conducted in
phone listings and other records unrelated to WHOIS for a linkage between
name and address, and contact was attempted with the named registrant using
phone numbers obtained during the association process. 

Using strict application of the criteria, only 23% of records were fully
accurate, but twice that number meet a slightly relaxed version of the
criteria (allowing successful contact with the registrant to imply
association, and requiring only that ownership of the site be confirmed, as
opposed to confirmation of both ownership and the currency/correctness of
all detail). Eight percent of records failed outright with obvious errors.

I think the BC most likely would like to comment on this report, so ask if
anyone is willing to volunteer to help with draft comments.  Of course any
Members’ comments to the list would be most welcome.

Thanks,

Mike

Mike Rodenbaugh

RODENBAUGH LAW

tel/fax:  +1 (415) 738-8087

http://rodenbaugh.com <http://rodenbaugh.com/> 

From: owner-council at gnso.icann.org [mailto:owner-council at gnso.icann.org] On
Behalf Of Glen de Saint Géry
Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 5:54 AM
To: Council GNSO
Subject: [council] Public Comment: Draft Report on WHOIS Accuracy

http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-3-15feb10-en.htm

Public Comment: Draft Report on WHOIS Accuracy

15 February 2010

The National Opinion Research Center (NORC) recently completed a study
commissioned by ICANN to determine the percentage of domain names registered
under the top 5 gTLDs (i.e., .com, .net, .org, .biz, and .info) that contain
accurate WHOIS data. Today, the draft report is being posted for review and
comment through 15 April 2010.

Community members are invited to review the draft report and its findings
and comment on all aspects of the report. The information in the report is
intended to contribute to the ongoing community discussion regarding WHOIS
and should be useful in any future policy development process regarding
WHOIS.

The draft report can be found here:
http://www.icann.org/en/compliance/reports/whois-accuracy-study-17jan10-en.p
df [PDF, 432 KB]

The Process Going Forward:

At the end of this Public Comment period, ICANN Staff will review the
comments submitted and prepare a summary analysis of the various
submissions.

Deadline and How to Submit Comments:

ICANN Staff is opening a 60-day public comment, from 15 February through 15
April 2010, and invites community comments on the draft report.

The formal Public Comment Forum Box is located here
<http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-201004-en.htm#whois-a
ccuracy-study>
http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-201004-en.htm#whois-ac
curacy-study

To Submit Comments:  <mailto:whois-accuracy-study at icann.org>
whois-accuracy-study at icann.org

To View Comments: http://forum.icann.org/lists/whois-accuracy-study/

Staff Responsible: David A. Giza, Senior Director, Contractual Compliance

Glen de Saint Géry

GNSO Secretariat

gnso.secretariat at gnso.icann.org

http://gnso.icann.org

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