Comments in re: Initial Report on the Privacy & Proxy Services Accreditation Issues Policy Development Process

[David Kendall <dkendalljr@xxxxxxxxx>]

To whom it may concern:

My name is David Kendall, and I control a number of domains and am an
active user of "proxy" services that allow me to register for domain using
anonymous contact information. With the upcoming changes discussed in the
proposal entitled "Initial Report on the Privacy & Proxy Services
Accreditation Issues Policy Development Process", I am writing to comment
on the proposed changes. Specifically the limiting of proxy services to
have anonymous details on domain registration, I find this proposal very
troubling as someone who has been effected by the availability of private
information on a personal and professional level,

I have a personal website that I got a .com domain for to make it easier
for readers to find it. While I may present personal details on it, I am
extremely careful not to give my location and full name as to maintain
privacy. When I initially signed up for the domain, I did not use a proxy
service to have anonymous contact information. Within a few months, I
started receiving calls from businesses pitching services, emails from
people and businesses that I did not reach out to and did not want contact,
and finally someone who found my website and WHOIS information called my
number and made inappropriate phone calls to my home.

I have a number of businesses that use web access exclusively to conduct
business and advertise. Since I'm running them out of my home, I use my
home address as my business address in a number of cases. If I am being
truthful on the registrar information, I would need to put my home address
as my business address for these commercial websites. If I were to have an
over-zealous customer want to track down the business and arrive at my
home, I would find it extremely disturbing and not following traditional
means of commerce. While this may seem far-fetched to some, with my
previous personal experience not using a proxy service for my personal
website, I know first hand this can happen.

Since all of the domains I use now have proxy services, I don't worry about
what is going to happen in regards to contacting me. Even with the proxy
services, I've still received legitimate inquiries from outside parties
while still maintaining the assurance of privacy. I understand the need to
make sure people and businesses are proper stewards of the domains they
control, but there are already steps in place that allow privacy and
accountability. What is proposed in that report will unwittingly cause
damage to private and professional privacy.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to the news that this proposal
is not enacted.

Sincerely,
David Kendall