ICANN - Respect Our Privacy

[Andrew Matecha <amatecha@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.

- 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.

Considering the kind of horrible behaviour exhibited by many people/groups
online - who typically face zero justice or punishment for their actions,
it seems obvious to protect the privacy of users online.

The potential damage of making users' private information so readily
available clearly substantially outweighs the benefits (are there really
any?).  There are already completely effective processes in place to pursue
legal action against those who would damage a company's or person's
rights/etc.    The internet affords us the amazing gift of being able to
connect to the rest of the world, and introducing greater personal risk to
individuals by unmasking private information defeats a major portion of the
value the internet brings.

-- 
-Andrew Matecha
amatecha@xxxxxxxxx
http://matecha.net