[council] Third draft of WHOIS task force terms of reference

Mon May 16 22:39:12 UTC 2005

Attached is a redline version of my BC proposal for changes to the Third
version of the ToR. I made what I consider some factual additions to include
the registered name holder. I also tried to make what I hope will make the
ToR more broadly adoptable by using neutral terms in describing applicable
and relevant law, etc., while still acknowledging privacy specifically. 

To the BC, there are many applicable and relevant laws, including those that
deal with consumer protection, crimes, etc. that also have to be
acknowledged, but I didn't spell those out... My interest is trying to get a
neutral tone to that segment that can allow the TF work to move forward. 

I also put in a placeholder for the addition of the work items from the
existing activities, that I believe that Jordyn and Maria were drafting. 

PLEASE NOTE, JUST IN CASE ANYONE HAS TROUBLE OPENING THE WORD DOCUMENT THAT
THIS IS NOT A REDLINED VERSION BELOW. IT IS THE THIRD VERSION WITH MY
PROPOSED ADDITIONS INCORPORATED -- ALL THE SYSTEM WOULD ALLOW ME TO DO, BUT
I KNOW THAT SOME ARE TRAVELING AND MAY HAVE LIMITED ACCESS.

-------------------------------------

Changes provided by Marilyn Cade, BC Councilor, as modifications to Bruce
Tonkin's

Third Draft of Terms of Reference for WHOIS task force

The mission of The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

("ICANN") is to coordinate, at the overall level, the global Internet's

systems of unique identifiers, and in particular to ensure the stable

and secure operation of the Internet's unique identifier systems. 

ICANN has agreements with gTLDS registrars and gTLDS registries that

require the provision of a WHOIS service via three mechanisms: port-43,

web based access, and bulk access.   The agreements also require a
Registered Name Holder to provide accurate contact information for
themselves, as well as technical and administrative contact information
adequate to facilitate timely resolution of any problems that arise in
connection with the Registered Name.  A registrar is required in the
Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) to take reasonable precautions to
protect Personal Data from loss, misuse, unauthorized access or disclosure,
alteration, or destruction.

The goal of the WHOIS task force is to improve the effectiveness of the

WHOIS service in maintaining the stability and security of the

Internet's unique identifier systems, whilst taking into account where

appropriate the issues of privacy for the personal data

of individuals that may be Registered Name Holders, or the

administrative or technical contact for a domain name.

Tasks:

(1) Define the purpose of the WHOIS service in the context of ICANN's

mission, relevant applicable international and national laws, including, but
not limited to those regarding privacy, and the

changing nature of Registered Name Holders.

(2) Define the purpose of the registered name holder, technical and
administrative contacts, in the context of the purpose of WHOIS, and the
purpose for which the data was collected.  

Relevant definitions are taken from Exhibit C of

the Transfers Task force report as a starting point (from

http://www.icann.org/gnso/transfers-tf/report-exhc-12feb03.htm):

"Contact: Contacts are individuals or entities associated with domain

name records. Typically, third parties with specific inquiries or

concerns will use contact records to determine who should act upon

specific issues related to a domain name record. There are typically

three of these contact types associated with a domain name record, the

Administrative contact, the Billing contact and the Technical contact.

Contact, Administrative: The administrative contact is an individual,

role or organization authorized to interact with the Registry or

Registrar on behalf of the Domain Holder. The administrative contact

should be able to answer non-technical questions about the domain name's

registration and the Domain Holder. In all cases, the Administrative

Contact is viewed as the authoritative point of contact for the domain

name, second only to the Domain Holder.

Contact, Billing: The billing contact is the individual, role or

organization designated to receive the invoice for domain name

registration and re-registration fees.

Contact, Technical: The technical contact is the individual, role or

organization that is responsible for the technical operations of the

delegated zone. This contact likely maintains the domain name server(s)

for the domain. The technical contact should be able to answer technical

questions about the domain name, the delegated zone and work with

technically oriented people in other zones to solve technical problems

that affect the domain name and/or zone."

Contact: Domain Holder: The individual or organization that registers a
specific domain name. This individual or organization holds the right o use
that specific domain name for a specified period of time, provided certain
conditions are met and the registration fees are paid. This person or
organization is the "legal entity" bound by the terms  of the relevant
service agreements with the Registry operation of the TLD in question."

(3) Determine what data collected should be available for public access

in the context of the purpose of WHOIS.  Determine how to access data

that is not available for public

access.   

The current elements that must be displayed by a registrar

are:

- The name of the Registered Name;

- The names of the primary name server and secondary name server(s) for

the Registered Name;

- The identity of Registrar (which may be provided through Registrar's

website);

- The original creation date of the registration;

- The expiration date of the registration;

- The name and postal address of the Registered Name Holder;

- The name, postal address, e-mail address, voice telephone number, and

(where available) fax number of the technical contact for the Registered

Name; and

- The name, postal address, e-mail address, voice telephone number, and

(where available) fax number of the administrative contact for the

Registered Name.

(4) Determine how to improve the process for notifying a registrar of

inaccurate WHOIS data, and the process for investigating and correcting

inaccurate data.  Currently a registrar must require a "Registered Name
Holder [to] provide to Registrar accurate and reliable contact details and
promptly correct and update them during the term of the Registered Name
registration;" "shall abide by any specifications or policies established
according to Section 4 requiring reasonable and commercially practicable (a)
verification, at the time of registration, of contact information associated
with a Registered Name sponsored by Registrar or (b) periodic
re-verification of such information; " and "shall, upon notification by any
person of an inaccuracy in the contact information associated with a
Registered Name sponsored by Registrar, take reasonable steps to investigate
that claimed inaccuracy. In the event Registrar learns of inaccurate contact
information associated with a Registered Name it

sponsors, it shall take reasonable steps to correct that inaccuracy."

Insert here the relevant sections being drafted by Jordyn and Maria that
captures the existing work. 

Submitted by Marilyn Cade, BC Councilor

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-council at gnso.icann.org [mailto:owner-council at gnso.icann.org] On
Behalf Of Bruce Tonkin
Sent: Saturday, May 14, 2005 9:32 PM
To: council at gnso.icann.org
Cc: gnso-dow123 at gnso.icann.org
Subject: [council] Third draft of WHOIS task force terms of reference

Hello All,

Here is a third draft of the WHOIS terms of reference.

The main changes are:

- ICANN mission statement taken directly from ICANN bylaws

- noting that there is a difference between the data collected and the

display of that data

(presently the agreements assume that everything collected will be

publicly displayed - the new draft takes in account that in future some

data that is collected may not be placed on public display), I have made

it clearer that the present agreements require Registered Name Holders

to provide certain data to the Registrar and keep it accurate, the

Registrar is required to display this data as part of its WHOIS

obligations.   The purpose of the WHOIS service (ie the public display

of data) is not clearly defined, but the purpose for which data is

collected is indirectly defined in clause 3.7.7.3.

- at the suggestion of the NCUC I have added the need to take into

account international and national privacy laws when defining the

purpose of WHOIS. 

Regards,

Bruce Tonkin

Third Draft of Terms of Reference for WHOIS task force

The mission of The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

("ICANN") is to coordinate, at the overall level, the global Internet's

systems of unique identifiers, and in particular to ensure the stable

and secure operation of the Internet's unique identifier systems. 

ICANN has agreements with gtld registrars and gtld registries that

require the provision of a WHOIS service via three mechanisms: port-43,

web based access, and bulk

access.   The agreements also require a Registered Name Holder to

provide accurate technical and administrative contact information

adequate to facilitate timely resolution of any problems that arise in

connection with the Registered Name.  A registrar is required in the

Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) to take reasonable precautions

to protect Personal Data from loss, misuse, unauthorized access or

disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

The goal of the WHOIS task force is to improve the effectiveness of the

WHOIS service in maintaining the stability and security of the

Internet's unique identifier systems, whilst taking into account where

appropriate the need to ensure privacy protection for the Personal Data

of individuals that may be Registered Name Holders, or the