Disappointing

[JD <jdpostage@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

ICANN,

The proposed changes to mandatory WHOIS registration as described in
https://blog.nearlyfreespeech.net/2015/06/27/icanns-assault-on-personal-and-small-business-privacy/
are beyond unacceptable. When the Internet was first created the vision
included identity as a core feature of the network, this made sense when
the Internet was created but does not make sense now. When identity was
considered as part of the Internet it was in some way assumed that
identity would be symmetrical. With the web this is not the case. People
do not interact as equal owners of websites, and the crowd can be
vicious. Internet mobs have had SWAT teams called to peoples doors,
employees fired from their jobs over their political beliefs, oppressed
minorities have been mobbed relentlessly for speaking out against their
bullies. But ultimately with this move you'd like to force website
owners to reveal their hand with not even the slightest symmetrical
obligation on the part of web visitors.

Ultimately, I think that even if it *was* symmetrical it still would be
wrong for a variety of reasons I won't get into, but to force men and
women to reveal themselves to their stalkers, to assume that just
because somebody runs a 'commercial' enterprise (with no definition to
boot!) this means they don't have abusive scary people in their life is
ridiculous.

Not to even mention the abuse of law enforcement requests. There have
been cases besides the one mentioned in the linked article of judges and
mayors and other mid-level government officials being angry with
something someone wrote on the Internet and lashing out at them
disproportionately. I do not have the time to go and find them. If law
enforcement wants the identity of a site owner they should go through
the proper legal channels for a real legal request, giving them blanket
impunity to request anybodies details for any reason whatsoever is a
blind trust that these agencies simply don't deserve. Further even if
they did, these agencies are largely cybernetic systems that when
decoupled from negative feedback quickly spiral into abuse and
overreach. Proper safeguards must be kept in place to keep authorities
honest.

In summary, this is shortsighted and farcical, please reconsider.