Whois Services Comments

[Chuck Wilson <chuckwilson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I would reiterate to ICANN some points made by EPIC which I strongly 
agree with
and have placed below. Personally identifying information to include the 
name, postal
address, e-mail address, voice telephone number, and fax number of any 
contact is too
risky from the perspective of the individual. It is even worse in the 
damage done to the
internet as a forum for free speech and public information. ICANN should 
not publish
this information nor should they release it, even to government officials.


/EPIC has prepared comments for submission to ICANN on the Preliminary
Report. EPIC supports the Operational Point of Contact proposal's
removal of registrants' postal addresses, phone and fax numbers and
email addresses from the Whois database, but pushes for the deletion of
registrants' names and countries of origin from the Whois public
database as well. As explained in Privacy and Human Rights 2005,
concealing actual identity may be critical for political, artistic, and
religious expression on the Internet.

/Sincerely,

Charles Wilson/
/