Re: [gnso-thickwhoispdp-wg] Dangers and risks of thick Whois

[Evan Leibovitch <evan@xxxxxxxxx>]

On 29 January 2013 07:45, Amr Elsadr <aelsadr@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


> Apart from agreeing with Frédéric's response, I feel that online anonymity
> is in some circumstances an important measure that needs to be taken to
> avoid danger scenarios. It is true that almost all registrant information
> is publicly accessible despite registering domain names with registrars in
> countries/jurisdictions with data privacy laws. Being an Egyptian, I have a
> very personal perspective on the issue of online anonymity and feel that a
> policy for all existing and future gTLDs registries using "thick" Whois is
> a step backwards for practicing freedom of expression.
>

This raises a common implicit yet unchallenged assumption -- that there is
a necessary link between freedom of speech and owning a domain name.

As someone who runs a site that hosts a number of anonymous bloggers --
none of whom requires their own domain name in order to protect their
anonymity -- I am unconvinced of that assumed link. Furthermore, privacy is
not synonymous with anonymity.

- Evan