ICANN - Steve Lawson Says Respect Our Privacy

[Steve Lawson <stlawson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear ICANN –

See "canned message" below, but also, my own comment:

In this age of identity theft, SPAMmers, Phishers and Junk Mailers, 
requiring personal information in a WHOIS document that is exposed to 
EVERYONE is a HUGE problem for many people -- including myself, a small 
time entrepreneur who works out of his home.  Even if I could justify 
the expense of a PO Box, even having that address exposed to the public 
makes it a target for Junk Mailers.   I only accept PayPal payments on 
my website, thus insulating myself from such abuse.  With a PayPal 
shopping cart, there is NO exposure of personal information.  I don't 
even publish an email address on my site -- but instead use a "Contact 
Us" form to thwart Email Spiders.   If my ability to use WHOIS privacy 
to insulate my personal identity is removed, that will be a security 
issue for me.

=============================== CANNED MESSAGE BELOW 
=================================
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.
- Everyone deserves the right to privacy.
- No one’s personal information should be revealed without a court 
order, regardless of whether the request comes from a private individual 
or law enforcement agency.
Private information should be kept private. Thank you.
=================================================================================
--
Steve Lawson
<http://www.JoyfulEarthTech.com>