Comments on Purpose of Whois

["Rick W. Weingarten" <rweingarten@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

February 7, 2006
 
The American Library Association strongly supports the first formulation
of the purpose for Whois.
 
A basic tenent of privacy law is that data collectors must collect only
the minimum personal information necessary to achieve the specific
purposes of that organization. By no means should personal information
be collected simply because third parties might find it useful for their
own purposes. The purpose of the Whois database is to assist with the
technical administration of the Internet, and nothing else. Even if
those ancillary uses were deemed worthwhile from some perspectives (and
that, itself, is open to debate), collection and retention of such
personally identifiable information creates a serious potential for
misuse, fraud, and intimidation of speech..
 
The American Library Association has long stood for the privacy rights
of information seekers and providers, including the right of anonymous
speech, regardless of media. Thus, as key providers of Internet services
to the public, we are specifically committed to privacy rights with
regard to speech on the Internet. We believe that, while managing the
technology of the Internet , ICANN has an obligation to minimize the
impacts of its technical decisions on broader social policy issues.
 
The Office for Information Technology Policy of the American Library
Association is a member of the NCUC.
 
Signed,
 
 
Fred W. Weingarten
Director
Office for Information Technology Policy
American Library Association