[arin-ppml] Privacy rights & IP number whois ( was Re: The LRSA $100 fee...)

[James Hess]

On Sun, Aug 31, 2008 at 3:24 PM, Tom Vest <tvest at pch.net> wrote:
> 1. Do you think that the completeness and accuracy of current DNS
> whois is the right standard for IP number whois?

In my view there is no legitimate privacy right protected by allowing
contact information to be witheld in _EITHER_ the case of DNS or IP
whois. WHOIS proxy services should simply not be allowed by any
registry.  Privacy deals with private, personal information.

The right to privacy is not a right to anonymity.   There is no human
right to anonymity.
Once a member of the public knows your identity, they will in general
share it with other
people.

If you are the CEO of a public corporation with 50% ownership; you
cannot hide your identity as CEO, you will be identified in publicly
available records created when the corporation is registered.

What individuals do with domains and with IPs is no less a public
manner than owning something like a public corporation.


Once you connect your equipment to other people's equipment,
or want to take possession of public resources like IP addresses and
domain names,
you are performing actions that are of concern to the public.
There is no expectation of privacy.

Just as if you claim ownership to a piece of land, you cannot expect
that your identity
as owner will be kept secret  (in fact, it is a matter of public record)


The public has an interest in being able to contact you directly with
regard to your
use of public resources, using all means that are ordinarily available,
especially when those actions are detrimental (for example, you use a domain
or IP for sending spam).

More importantly, the public has the right to take action against you regarding
serious abuses; including legal action, and informing others of your
identity and the
problem.

The right of the public to do these things without hinderance is much
more important than
any semblence of anonymity that could be offered.


If the information is kept hidden by proxy --  the information
provided to the proxy
is much more likely to be illegitimate falsified information; since
the public does not
see it, no one will be looking and reporting  obvious falsities to the
registrar.


The increased likelihood of illegitimate information being filed practically
eliminates usefulness of WHOIS,  and the ability for operators to contact
each other about connectivity and other problems that may arise between
their networks.

--
-J