1. Background
2. Current RDS/WHOIS Policy Materials
3. Current RDS/WHOIS Policy Implementation Materials
4. Previous WHOIS Review Materials
5. Additional Information
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1. Background
WHOIS isn’t an acronym, though it may look like one. In fact, it is the system that asks the question, who is responsible for a domain name or an IP address?
To learn more about the Registration Directory Service (RDS, formerly known as WHOIS), visit:
- WHOIS Primer
- WHOIS Information Portal and Consolidated WHOIS Lookup Tool
- ICANN WHOIS Portal Knowledge Center Q&A: What is WHOIS data used for?
- WHOIS Protocol (RFC 3912)
2. Current RDS/WHOIS Policy Materials
- WHOIS Data Reminder Policy (WDRP)
- Restored Names Accuracy Policy (RNAP)
- WHOIS Marketing Restriction Policy (WMRP)
- Additional WHOIS Information Policy (AWIP)
WHOIS Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy and Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy
WHOIS New gTLD URS Policy and Rules for URS Policy
- WHOIS Expired Domain Deletion Policy
- WHOIS Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy
- Thick WHOIS PDP and Final Report – see section 7.1 for Thick WHOIS Policy
- Privacy & Proxy Services Accreditation Issues (PPSAI) PDP and Final Report
- Translation/Transliteration of Contact Information PDP and Final Report
3. Current RDS/WHOIS Policy Implementation Materials
- 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA), including RAA WHOIS requirements for Registrants
- 2014 New gTLD Registry Agreement, including Specification 4 Registration Data Publication Services
- 2015 Annual Report on WHOIS Improvements
- Accuracy Reporting System (ARS) Pilot Study Report (2014)
- ARS Phase 1 Validation Criteria (2015)
- Final Report from the Working Group on Internationalized Registration Data (2015)
- Final Report from the Expert Working Group on Internationalized Registration Data (2015)
- ICANN Memorandum (Legal Review) to the IRT on Thin to Thick WHOIS Transition - Final Memorandum and Scope (2014-2015)
- Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP - RFC 7480)
- RDAP Operational Profile for Registries and Registrars (2016)
- ICANN Procedure For Handling WHOIS Conflicts with Privacy Law (2008)
- Review of the ICANN Procedure for Handling WHOIS Conflicts with Privacy Law (2014)
- 2013 RAA's Data Retention Specification Waiver and Discussion Document (2014)
- Final Report on the Implementation Advisory Group Review of Existing ICANN Procedure for Handling Whois Conflicts with Privacy Laws (2016)
4. Previous WHOIS Review and Task Force Materials
- WHOIS Implementation Report (2015)
- WHOIS Policy Review Team Final Report (2012)
- WHOIS Task Force Final Report (2007) [HTML] and [PDF]
- WHOIS Task Force Final Report (2003)
5. Additional Information
- RDS/WHOIS2-RT: Section 4.6 of ICANN Bylaws
- Affirmation of Commitments (AoC) - superceded by new ICANN Bylaws
- OECD Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data (2013)
- SAC051, Report on Domain Name WHOIS Terminology (2011)