Internet anonymity is important! Please preserve WHOIS privacy.

[Michael Coffey <0x0475@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear ICANN,

Regarding the proposed rules governing companies that provide WHOIS
privacy services (as set forth in the Privacy and Policy Services
Accreditation Issues Policy document):

I urge you to respect internet users' rights to privacy and due process.

I create web sites both professionally and as a hobby.  I love the
internet, and it's a major part of my life.  But if I couldn't have my
own web site without publishing my personal information, there's a
very good chance I would take my web sites down.

As wonderful as the internet is, it can also be a very dangerous
place, and anonymity is one of the best ways to protect oneself from
that danger.  You might think that requiring real information in WHOIS
records will help put a stop to things like online harassment and
cyberbullying, and maybe it would, in some cases.  But it would also
give harassers the ability to do physical and lasting harm to
webmasters who said things they didn't like.  And it would silence
many voices before they ever began to participate.

I encourage you to read this EFF article defending the value of
internet pseudonymity:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/07/case-pseudonyms

Thank you for your time.