[bc-gnso] Whois Registrant Identification Study, Draft Report

Sun Feb 17 13:34:31 UTC 2013

Dear BC Members,

WHOIS has been a priority to the BC historically, and continues to have 
a priority status.

Please take note of the recent announcement below, and respond to the 
BC-Secretariat or to Steve Delbianco, V.Chair, Policy Coordination, 
regarding your interest in this public comment period.  There is also a 
WHOIS Rapporteur, Elisa Cooper, and you may wish to cc her as WHOIS 
Rapporteur.

All emails are provided below : bc-secretariat at icann.org, 
sdelbianco at netchoice.org, elisa.cooper at markmonitor.com,  or you may 
simply reply to the full list, and I will watch carefully for any 
volunteers to provide then to Steve and Elisa.

Kind Regards,

Benedetta Rossi
BC Secretariat
https://community.icann.org/display/gnsobc/Home
www.bizconst.org
bc-secretariat at icann.org

https://www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/whois-regid-15feb13-en.htm

  Whois Registrant Identification Study, Draft Report

Comment/Reply Periods ^(*)

Important Information Links

*Comment Open:*

15 February 2013

*Comment Close:*

9 March 2013

*Close Time (UTC):*

01:00

Public Comment Announcement 
<https://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-15feb13-en.htm>

*Reply Open:*

To Submit Your Comments (Forum) 
<mailto:comments-whois-regid-15feb13 at icann.org>

*Reply Close:*

View Comments Submitted 
<http://forum.icann.org/lists/comments-whois-regid-15feb13>

*Close Time (UTC):*

Report of Public Comments

Brief Overview

*Originating Organization:*

GNSO

*Categories/Tags:*

Policy Processes

*Purpose (Brief):*

This study, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago, uses Whois 
to classify entities that register gTLD domain names, including natural 
persons, legal persons, and Privacy/Proxy service providers. Using 
associated Internet content, the study classifies entities using those 
domains, and observed potentially commercial activities. Findings will 
help the community understand how Registrants identify themselves in Whois.

*Current Status:*

This Public Comment solicitation represents an opportunity for the 
community to consider the study results detailed in this draft report, 
ask questions, and request clarifications. In parallel, ICANN and NORC 
will conduct Webinars to facilitate feedback by summarizing this study's 
purpose, methodology, key findings, and conclusions.

*Next Steps:*

NORC will consider all comments submitted to this Public Comment forum 
during the comment period, incorporate any needed clarifications, and 
then publish a final version of this WHOIS Registrant Identification 
study report. Afterwards, the GNSO Council will use this report to 
inform future Whois policy-making.

*Staff Contact:*

Barbara Roseman

*Email:*

Policy-staff at icann.org 
<mailto:Policy-staff at icann.org?subject=More%20information%20on%20the%20Whois%20Registrant%20Identification%20Study,%20Draft%20Report%20public%20comment%20period>

Detailed Information

*Section I: Description, Explanation, and Purpose*

The WHOIS Registrant Identification Study uses Whois to classify 
entities that register gTLD domain names, including natural persons, 
legal persons, and Privacy/Proxy service providers. Using associated 
Internet content, it then classifies entities using those domains and 
potentially commercial activities. NORC at the University of Chicago has 
been selected to conduct this study and has issued a draft report, which 
is now available for public comment.

*Section II: Background*

As part of its effort to develop a comprehensive understanding of the 
gTLD Whois system, the GNSO Council expressed an interest in conducting 
an in-depth study of how entities that register and use gTLD domain 
names identify themselves in Whois. At the GNSO's request, ICANN issued 
an RFP in October 2009 describing a study to examine the extent to which 
domains used by legal persons or for commercial purposes (1) are not 
clearly identified as such in Whois Registrant data and (2) are 
correlated to use of Privacy and Proxy services.
After considering RFP responses received in late 2009 from researchers 
willing to undertake that Registrant Identification study, along with 
significant concerns raised by GNSO Council members regarding the 
above-stated study hypothesis, the GNSO Council decided to revamp the 
study's goals and approach.
In May 2010, a revised study was approved by the GNSO Council and 
awarded to NORC at University of Chicago. This exploratory study – 
detailed by this draft study report – seeks a more foundational 
understanding of the types of entities and kinds of activities observed 
in gTLD domains, including (but not exclusively focused on) those 
registered using Privacy or Proxy services. Accordingly, the categories 
of entities and activities to be studied were not pre-determined, but 
rather generated as researchers examined representative samples of 
active websites and related Whois data.
Study findings are intended to provide raw data needed to understand how 
entities that register and use gTLD domain names identify themselves in 
Whois, including (but not limited to) domains registered Privacy/Proxy 
services and domains engaged in potentially commercial activity. This 
empirical data will not only enable Council to respond to GAC questions, 
but will also create a baseline for evaluating potential Whois policy 
changes.

*Section III: Document and Resource Links*

  * WHOIS Registrant Identification Study Revised Terms of Reference
    <http://gnso.icann.org/issues/whois/tor-whois-registrant-id-studies-20may11-en.pdf>[PDF,
    719 KB]
  * WHOIS Studies Report for GNSO
    <http://gnso.icann.org/issues/whois/whois-studies-report-for-gnso-23mar10-en.pdf>[PDF,
    487 KB]
  * WHOIS Registrant Identification Study – Rationale for Changes
    <http://gnso.icann.org/issues/whois/whois-registrant-id-study-rationale-20may11-en.pdf>
    [PDF, 121 KB]
  * NORC Selected to Conduct a gTLD Whois Registrant Identification
    Study
    <http://blog.icann.org/2011/09/norc-at-the-university-of-chicago-selected-to-conduct-a-gtld-whois-registrant-identification-study/>
  * WHOIS Registrant Identification Study | Draft Project Summary Report
    <http://gnso.icann.org/en/issues/whois/registrant-identification-summary-06feb13-en.pdf>[PDF,
    505 KB]
  * ICANN WHOIS Registrant Identification Project | Appendix A:
    Exploratory Analysis Report
    <http://gnso.icann.org/en/issues/whois/registrant-identification-analysis-20dec12-en.pdf>[PDF,
    1.1 MB]
  * WHOIS Registrant Identification Study | Appendix B: Variable
    Glossary
    <http://gnso.icann.org/en/issues/whois/registrant-identification-glossary-30oct12-en.pdf>[PDF,
    250 KB]

*Section IV: Additional Information*

Additional WHOIS studies are now being conducted at the request of the 
GNSO Council, as summarized by: http://gnso.icann.org/issues/whois/

/(*) Comments submitted after the posted Close Date/Time are not 
guaranteed to be considered in any final summary, analysis, reporting, 
or decision-making that takes place once this period lapses./

Glen de Saint Géry

GNSO Secretariat

gnso.secretariat at gnso.icann.org

http://gnso.icann.org

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