Comment on - A Study of Whois Privacy and Proxy Service Abuse

[x c <xc6952@xxxxxxxxx>]

Fundamentally, I must call into question the initial premise of the study
to use a phone number to contact people about internet communication in the
first place - it is no wonder why it hardly succeeds. It's like doing a fax
survey about email use, and obviously fails. It would have been much more
interesting (simpler, easier, cheaper, better, more accurate) to send a
much larger number of emails (perhaps to the whole dataset - is that
impossible?) and see the response rate. Apart from that many websites have
contact details on them - this is more likely monitored than the domain
whois registrant entry.


Using only a phone call to a handful of domain registrants was a flawed
experimental idea - and obviously so from the massive error ranges and low
response rate. Extrapolating to the whole dataset is hardly useful,
furthermore, giving the percentage results to one decimal place of accuracy
when the error range is double digits is misleading to say the least (sec
17.1) - straight from 'How to Lie with Statistics' - implying accuracy that
simply isn't there.


If the survey team had called me as a domain holder - they certainly would
have got some 'colour' added to the comments (Appendix A p 4/4).



My personal experience:-

I was absolutely and utterly horrified to find my name, home address and
mobile phone number on the whois record of my own (personal and business)
website. I immediately applied for the domain privacy service. My hosting
firm knows who I am, they have my (verified) credit card number, they know
it isn't fraudulent - they can get hold of me, they can pass to anyone
having legal need to know. However, the whole world+dog does not need to
know my name, home address or phone number. Whois can publish some random
email address for me and, if (unless?) it is an offer to buy my domain name
for millions of dollars, I might reply.


The destruction of personal privacy of domain holders is unnecessary and
disproportionate for law abiding websites in a vain attempt to prevent
other fraudulent or unlawful activity online. Making life easy and cheap
for big firms and their legal representatives is certainly no reason to
destroy personal privacy for all domain holders. If the need arises, the
authorities and countless other organizations public and private already
know me or can find out exactly who I am (even though they claim they
don't).


Criminals will easily bypass any such 'real identity' controls by using
fake or stolen identities anyway, thus exposing and implicating innocent
people to potential trouble or unwarranted investigation from even more
harsh regimes than the likes of the RIAA or Intercontinental Hotels Group.



I come from a time and place where the wrong people finding out your name
and address and affiliation (to the security forces) could mean getting
shot dead on your doorstep. Just because I want to be anonymous does not
make me a criminal or a suspect.


We don't need Whois to serve up the full identity (false or otherwise) of
domain owners, it is ridiculous to suggest it is necessary on any level.
Some random email to contact them, but making public names, home addresses
and phone numbers are wholly unnecessary, the lawful authorities can get
this information if they have legal need to - there is no reason whatsoever
to make it easy for fraudsters to get lists of verified identity details -
that would be just unnecessary, stupid and counter-productive.



Disclaimer: For the avoidance of doubt: I am not any of the following: a
terrorist (or supporter of), cyber-squatter, phisher, spammer, wanted
criminal, debt or tax avoider, child/maintenance support avoider, online
troll or defamer, internet fraudster or scammer, drug pusher or buyer or
user, online pedophile trader, illegal online gambler, illegal immigrant,
fly tipper, or trying to get my kid into a school out of catchment area
(used by UK local councils to instigate illegal and disproportionate
surveillance programs!!), people trafficker or trade in weapons of mass
destruction or otherwise or anything else exciting or illegal, not even
slightly.



I don't vote - because to register would put my name on the electoral
register (in the UK that is a crime - thankfully, I don't live in the UK
anymore) and then find my personal details are sold for profit to the likes
of 192.com and all sorts of credit rating agencies. I believe my privacy is
more important than taking part in the charade of democracy.


Sincerely,

(name withheld)