[council] Second Draft WHOIS terms of reference

[Marilyn Cade]

Thanks, Bruce,

I suggest that while we can discuss the ToR tomorrow in our meeting, that
there are some areas still to be addressed and possibly added into the ToR. 

For instance, we have existing work at the TF that isn't reflected in the
ToR but is work in progress. I think the TR chair, Jordyn Buchanan, is
probably the best person to report on that status, and then the Council
should discuss how best to reflect existing work into the ToR. Perhaps after
this discussion, the chair of the TF/and staff can devise any language for
the revisions and then come back to the Council afterwards... 

Thanks for your work on the ToR. 



-----Original Message-----
From: owner-council at gnso.icann.org [mailto:owner-council at gnso.icann.org] On
Behalf Of Bruce Tonkin
Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2005 11:54 PM
To: council at gnso.icann.org
Cc: gnso-dow123 at gnso.icann.org
Subject: [council] Second Draft WHOIS terms of reference

Hello All,

I have added the reference to the definitions of contacts in Exhibit C
of the Transfers Report as suggested by Ross Rader.

Regards,
Bruce Tonkin


Second Draft of Terms of Reference for WHOIS task force

ICANN's mission is to maintain the stability and security of the
Internet's unique identifier systems, while fostering competition where
appropriate to give Internet users greater choice at optimal cost.
Within the context of this mission, 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 purpose of the WHOIS service as contained in the Registrar
Accreditation Agreement (RAA) is 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 also required in the 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
administrative or technical contact for a domain name.

Tasks:

(1) Review the current purpose of WHOIS, and determine whether it should
be refined in the context of ICANN's mission and the changing nature of
Registered Name Holders.
"The purpose of WHOIS is to provide accurate technical and
administrative contact information adequate to facilitate timely
resolution of any problems that arise in connection with the Registered
Name"

(2) Define the purpose of the technical and administrative contacts, in
the context of the purpose of WHOIS, to improve the accuracy and
relevance of the data collected.  Use the definitions 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."

(3) Determine what WHOIS data elements should be available for public
access that are needed to maintain the stability and security of the
Internet.  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 nameserver and secondary nameserver(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 "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."