iCANN - Respect Our Privacy

[Russ Alexander II <russ.alexander@xxxxxxxxxx>]

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.
There are many people who:

1) Don't know that registering their domain with their personal 
information is published publicly in the WHOIS database.
2) Prefer the low-cost effectiveness of domain name privacy services 
offered by third-party registrars to offset spam, scams, phishing 
attempts, identity thieves and hackers.
3) Don't have a registered agent, PO / PM box or business office because 
they:
    a. Don't think their website is identified as a commercial entity.
    b. Simply cannot afford it.

4) Don't know that their website can be construed as a commercial entity.

5) Have domains related to "sensitive" issues on which they legally 
express their own opinions which can cause others to want to do physical 
harm to them or their associates.
Additionally, why do you feel that your organization should monitor what 
is considered commercial vs non-commercial when it comes to websites?  
As far as I am aware, ICANN is an organization designed to monitor and 
maintain the stability of the Internet for domain names and registrars - 
not website content and website purpose.  To me, this is a gray area in 
which ICANN does not need to be involved.
And not only does this pose an issue for privacy, but it also poses a 
problem for small businesses who offer domain privacy services in that 
when a domain is registered it is completely unknown whether the domain 
is registered for personal or business matters and could result in 
refunds and excessive man hours to process these refunds.
I understand that companies like MarkMonitor want domain privacy 
services to be eliminated to make it more affordable for them to scan 
public records for service and trade mark violations and also make it 
easier for Hollywood production companies to go after those who violate 
their copyrights but that shouldn't be a motivating factor into wiping 
out years of trust consumers have unknowingly put into YOUR hands.  
There are MANY legal avenues of approach that these companies have to 
bring down those who are in violation of the marks and rights of their 
clients.  Just because they don't want to pay for it anymore isn't 
everyone else's problem.
And in this day and age of privacy issues & identity theft, why add to 
the problem by enforcing this?  Not only will you be exposing honest, 
hard-working people's information to unscrupulous people who want to 
steal their information or even harm them physically but you may also be 
inadvertently adding unnecessary labor costs for the businesses who act 
as proxies between the registrants, registrars, IANA and you.
And yes, there are registrars out there that aren't "following the 
rules" and are perpetrating lawlessness but why should the rest of us 
have to suffer?
Take some time to discuss this rationally and see it from the 
perspective of others before making an uninformed decision that could 
hurt the majority of your consumers.
Thank you for your time and understanding.