Study Suggestion Number 2

[study-suggestion-response@xxxxxxxxx]

Submitted By:
[Redacted for privacy reasons]

Topic:
The nature and extent of privacy protection options available to registrants 
seeking to shield their personal data from public display in Whois. 



Hypothesis:
Registrants presently have options to effectively shield their personal 
information from public display in Whois.  Namely, proxy services offered by 
registrars and by third parties.

How the hypothesis could be falsified:
This hypothesis could be falsified if the analysis found that registrants 
currently have no effective, affordable way to shield their personal 
information from public display in Whois. 
This hypothesis should be tested for any top level domain that collects and 
displays a registrantâ??s Whois data.   
If the analysis finds that registrants have at least one privacy protection 
option available, the hypothesis would not be falsified.


Utility:
An affirmation of the hypothesis would not necessarily drive any changes to 
Whois policy. However, ICANN could undertake new communications efforts to 
educate registrants about their options in shielding personal data.  ICANN also 
could undertake policy development to standardize the minimum features required 
of proxy services.

If the analysis finds that registrants have only one privacy protection option 
available, ICANN could undertake policy development to increase availability 
and competition among registrars and third party providers of privacy 
protection services.


Type of Study Needed:
An analysis of privacy services offered by all accredited registrars and by 
third parties. 
Much of the data can be collected by manual review of each registrarsâ?? web 
site to examine privacy protection services available.  Other data would not 
likely be published, such as the date these services were first offered and 
number of registrants using the service.   For this data, we would likely need 
to send questions and request answers from each registrar.


Data that needs to be collected:
For any Registrar or third party that offers privacy protection services to 
registrants:

Data element/Suggested source(s)

Domain name     
    Survey of registrars and third-party providers      
Type of entity (registrar, third party) 
    Survey of registrars and third-party providers      
Total registrants served        
    Survey of registrars and third-party providers      
Type of privacy service offered (e.g. proxy; mail forwarding)   
    Survey of registrars and third-party providers      
Date privacy service was first offered  
    Survey of registrars and third-party providers      
Number of registrants currently using this privacy service      
    Survey of registrars and third-party providers      
Cost ($ per month) to registrant for use of privacy service     
    Survey of registrars and third-party providers      
Data protection policies with regards to law enforcement and consumer 
protection.       
    Survey of registrars and third-party providers      



Population to be surveyed:
Registrars and third-party providers of privacy services.  

Sample Size:
Given there still are less than 1000 ICANN-accredited gTLD registrars, the 
analysis should include a review of websites for all who are offering 
registration services.   If we also conduct a survey to learn the additional 
data elements (date services offered, number of customers), a response rate of 
at least one-third might be sufficient.

Type of Analysis:
A comparative analysis of types and costs of protection services.

Attempt to correlate service characteristics (cost and features) with the 
relative share of eligible registrants who choose to use a given privacy 
protection service.   In this correlation, we will need to assess whether 
individual registrants were/are even aware that they have options for privacy 
protection services.   If awareness is low, we cannot draw firm conclusions 
about whether the cost, features, or likely effectiveness of these services is 
suppressing registrant demand.