[CCWG-ACCT] Proposed WHOIS language

[Malcolm Hutty]

On 02/09/2015 02:24, Bruce Tonkin wrote:
> ICANN commits to enforcing its policy relating to the current WHOIS
> and any future gTLD Directory Service,

I'm getting a slight queasiness about "forward looking statements".

In the event that a future gTLD Directory Service is approved and
deployed, and that this includes a policy requiring specific data to be
made available through it, undoubtedly ICANN should enforce that policy.
However, it does strike me that this language could raise hackles that
it implies (or at least carries the connotation of) commiting now to a
certain vision of requirements for a future RDS that, as I understand
it, has not yet reached consensus or been approved. So while the wording
itself isn't technically faulty, the feel of it is challenging.

Perhaps if we split it out into a separate statement on RDS we could be
more clear that we don't mean to imply pre-approving that now?

Something like

"ICANN commits to enforcing its policy relating to the current WHOIS
subject to applicable laws, and working with the community to explore
structural changes to improve accuracy and access to gTLD registration
data, as well as consider safeguards for protecting data. In the event
that WHOIS is replaced or superceded by a future gTLD Directory Service
with its own policies, the same commitment will apply to the enforcement
of those future policies once they have been approved in due course."


-- 
            Malcolm Hutty | tel: +44 20 7645 3523
   Head of Public Affairs | Read the LINX Public Affairs blog
 London Internet Exchange | http://publicaffairs.linx.net/

                 London Internet Exchange Ltd
           21-27 St Thomas Street, London SE1 9RY

         Company Registered in England No. 3137929
       Trinity Court, Trinity Street, Peterborough PE1 1DA