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whois

ICANN Maps Whois Models For GDPR

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Earlier today ICANN held a webinar to provide an update on their data privacy activities in relation to whois and GDPR. Rather than simply talking about the various "models" they produced both a visual mapping as well as a matrix. While some attendees may not agree with how all the models are classified it is still a helpful way of showing the deviations from the current … [Read more...] about ICANN Maps Whois Models For GDPR

Some Whois Lookup Services Might be Broken

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There are thousands of sites and services on the 'net that offer domain name whois lookup services. As of last night many of them may have stopped working. Why? Many of them rely on fairly rudimentary software that parses the whois from Verisign (for .com and .net) and then relays the query to the registrar whois. The site or service then displays the whois output from the … [Read more...] about Some Whois Lookup Services Might be Broken

New Zealand’s ccTLD Proposes Flawed Whois Policy Change

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In common with several other ccTLDs, the .nz ccTLD is split into two bodies. While the registry operator is NZRS, the policies are managed by a different entity The Domain Name Commission. They've recently been reviewing their whois related policies and have come up with a proposal which would allow private individuals to opt out of public whois. However the proposal is … [Read more...] about New Zealand’s ccTLD Proposes Flawed Whois Policy Change

P is for Proxy

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Last night Google unveiled their new plans for global domination, which involves the company morphing into something new "Alphabet". And new TLD types around the globe rejoiced, as the online behemoth chose to use a .xyz domain name for their big reveal (They also made a funny reference to another .xyz in the source code .. ) But while "G is for Google", then "P is for … [Read more...] about P is for Proxy

.WTF Domain Being Used In Privacy Campaign

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ICANN comment periods on policy proposals don't normally garner much attention. In the case of the current comment period on proxy / privacy services, however, things are very different. To date several thousand comments have been filed, while the topic of the policy proposals has received media attention across hundreds of outlets. Today, however, I noticed some people … [Read more...] about .WTF Domain Being Used In Privacy Campaign

Irish Water Don’t Control Water.ie

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As of midnight Irish households will have to pay water charges. Every household in the country has been sent information about getting setup with the new water authority including getting an online account and paperless billing. They're using water.ie But they do not control water.ie - it's not registered to them and never has been. Irish Water is a subsidiary of Bord … [Read more...] about Irish Water Don’t Control Water.ie

Video: Jean-Francois Baril on EWG Final Report

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Jean-Francois Baril was interviewed by Brad White earlier this week about the Expert Working Group on gTLD Directory Services's final report. The EWG, which was formed in early 2013 was tasked with reviewing the current whois system and to come up with an alternative. Jean-Francois explains what the report does, why it was done and also touches on some of the issues the … [Read more...] about Video: Jean-Francois Baril on EWG Final Report

Help ICANN Fix Whois Conflicts With Data Privacy Law!

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ICANN has opened a comment period  in relation to whois conflicts with local law / data privacy law. Of course anytime ICANN, or anyone else, tries to make any changes to whois policy there are issues. Whois is, for a variety of reasons, an emotive subject. One of the areas that Article 29, several registries located in the EU and a number of registrars (including … [Read more...] about Help ICANN Fix Whois Conflicts With Data Privacy Law!