WHOIS Task Force & Policy Review Team Reports
- WHOIS Policy Review Team Final Report (2012)
- WHOIS Task Force Final Report (2007) [HTML] and [PDF]
- WHOIS Task Force Final Report (2003)
- Further links to GNSO Closed/Archived WHOIS Policy Work (2001-2011)
WHOIS Studies
- GNSO Council Recommendation on Further Studies of WHOIS (2008)
- WHOIS Misuse Study and Final Study Report (2014)
- WHOIS Registrant Identification Study and Final Study Report (2013)
- WHOIS Privacy and Proxy Services Abuse Study and Final Study Report (2014)
- WHOIS Privacy and Proxy Relay/Reveal Survey and Final Survey Results (2012)
- NORC WHOIS Accuracy Study (2010)
- NORC Study on the Prevalence of Domain Names Registered Using A Privacy or Proxy Service Among the Top 5 gTLDs (2010)
- US GAO Prevalence of False Contact Information for Registered Domain Names Study (2005)
- GNSO WHOIS Technical Requirements Survey (2013)
- Further links to GNSO WHOIS Study announcements and comments (2009-2014)
SSAC Reports about WHOIS
- SAC061, SSAC Comment on ICANN’s Initial Report from the Expert Working Group on gTLD Directory Services (2013)
- SAC058, Report on Domain Name Registration Data Validation (2013)
- SAC055, WHOIS: Blind Men and an Elephant (September 2012)
- SAC054, Report on Domain Name Registration Data Model (June 2012)
- SAC051, Report on Domain Name WHOIS Terminology (2011)
Registry & Registrar Agreements
- 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA), including RAA WHOIS requirements for Registrants (2013)
- 2014 New gTLD Registry Agreement, including Specification 4 Registration Data Publication Services (2014)
WHOIS Program Improvement Documents
- Accuracy Reporting System (ARS) Pilot Study Report (2014)
- ICANN Blog: Phase 1 of the ARS
- ARS Phase 1 Validation Criteria (2015)
- ICANN WHOIS Portal Knowledge Center Q&A: What is WHOIS data used for?
- WHOIS Information Portal and Consolidated WHOIS Lookup Tool
- WHOIS Primer
- Annual Report on WHOIS Improvements (2014)
- WHOIS Implementation Report (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)
- RDAP Operational Profile for Registries and Registrars (2016)
Related GNSO PDP Reports
- GNSO PDP on Thick WHOIS and Final Report (2013)
- GNSO PDP on Privacy & Proxy Services Accreditation Issues (PPSAI), Final Report, and GNSO Council Recommendations to Board (2015)
- GNSO PDP on Translation/Transliteration of Contact Information and Final Report (2015)
- See also IRD-related reports under WHOIS Improvements above
Procedure for Handling Conflicts with National Laws
- GNSO Policy underlying current ICANN Procedure (2006)
- 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)
Other GNSO WHOIS Consensus Policies
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
GAC Communiques regarding WHOIS
- Singapore GAC Communiqué (11 February 2015)
- Los Angeles GAC Communiqué (16 October 2014)
- London GAC Communiqué (25 June 2014)
- Singapore GAC Communiqué (27 March 2014)
- Beijing GAC Communiqué (11 April 2013)
- GAC 44 Prague Communiqué (28 June 2012)
- GAC Principles regarding gTLD WHOIS Services (28 March 2007)
- All GAC Communiques can also be reached through this link
- Additional inputs suggested by the GAC
Article 29 Data Protection Working Party Letters and Documents
- Article 29 WP statement on the data protection impact of the revision of the ICANN RAA (2013-2014)
https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/correspondence/namazi-to-kohnstamm-25mar14-en.pdf
https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/correspondence/kohnstamm-to-jeffrey-08jan14-en.pdf
https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/correspondence/jeffrey-to-kohnstamm-20sep13-en.pdf
https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/correspondence/kohnstamm-to-crocker-chehade-06jun13-en.pdf
- Article 29 WP comments on the data protection impact of the revision of the ICANN RAA concerning accuracy and data retention of WHOIS (2012)
Article 29 WP on ICANN Procedure for Handling WHOIS Conflicts with Privacy Law (2007)
http://gnso.icann.org/en/correspondence/cerf-to-schaar-24oct07.pdf
https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/cerf-to-schaar-15mar07-en.pdf- Article 29 WP on ICANN’s WHOIS Database Policy (2006)
https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/schaar-to-cerf-22jun06-en.pdf
https://www.icann.org/en/correspondence/lawson-to-cerf-22jun06.pdf
https://www.icann.org/en/correspondence/parisse-to-icann-22jun06.pdf
https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/fingleton-to-cerf-20jun06-en.pdf
- Article 29 WP 76 Opinion 2/2003
Opinion on the application of the data protection principles to the WHOIS directories
- Additional Article 29 WP documents that may be of interest to this PDP WG
Article 29 WP 5 Recommendation 2/1997
Article 29 WP 20 Opinion 3/1999
Article 29 WP 33 Opinion 5/2000
Article 29 WP 41 Opinion 4/2001
Article 29 WP 56 Working Document 5/2002
Article 29 WP Opinion 1/2010
Article 29 WP 203 Opinion 3/2013
Article 29 WP 217 Opinion 4/2014
- Further documents produced by the Article 29 WP may be found at their website
Council of Europe Declaration
- Declaration of the Committee of Ministers on ICANN, human rights and the rule of law (3 June 2015)
- Council of Europe's Treaty 108 on Data Protection (1985)
European Parliament
- Final Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council (27 April 2016)
- News: Data protection reform – Parliament approves new rules fit for the digital era (April 2016)
- UK Information Commissioner's Office Overview of the General Data Protection Regulation (July 2016)
- European Data Protection Directive (1995)
EDPS Correspondence regarding Registration Data
- Opinion of the European Data Protection Supervisor: Europe's role in shaping the future of Internet Governance (23 June 2014)
- ICANN's public consultation on 2013 RAA Data Retention Specification Data Elements and Legitimate Purposes for Collection and Retention (17 April 2014)
European Commission Website
European Commission EU-US Privacy Shield-related Documents
- European Commission News Announcement: EU-US Privacy Shield
- Judgement of the Court (Grand Chamber) - Maximillian Schrems v Data Protection Commissioner
- EU-U.S. Privacy Shield draft (full text, February 2016)
- Opinion 01/2016 on the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield draft adequacy decision of the Article 29 WP 238
Africa Union Documents
International Working Group on Data Protection in Telecommunications and Media Documents
Common Position relating to Reverse Directories (Hong Kong, 15.04.1998)
- Common Position on Privacy and Data Protection aspects of the Registration of Domain Names on the Internet (Crete, 4./5.05.2000)
- Common Position on Privacy and Data Protection aspects of the Publication of Personal Data contained in publicly available documents on the Internet (Crete, 4./5.05.2000)
Common Position on Incorporation of telecommunications-specific principles in multilateral privacy agreements: Ten Commandments to protect Privacy in the Internet World (Berlin, 13/14.09.2000)
- Common Position on data protection aspects in the Draft Convention on cyber-crime of the Council of Europe (Berlin, 13/14.09.2000)
Further documents produced by this "Berlin Group" may be found at their website
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ("OECD")
United Nations Human Rights Council
U.S. Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
- Green Paper: Improvement of Technical Management of Internet Names and Addresses (1998)
- White Paper: Management of Internet Names and Addresses, Statement of Policy (2012)
National Laws or Court Rulings that may possibly apply to gTLDs, including
- U.S. Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA), 15 USC §1125
- Judgement on preliminary ruling under Article 267 TFEU from Audiencia Nacional (Spain)
- Judgement on preliminary ruling under Article 267 TFEU from the Oberster Gerichtshof (Supreme Court, Austria)
- Judgment on preliminary ruling under Article 267 TFEU, from the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Court of Justice, Germany)
- U.S. Supreme Court Case - McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission, 514 U.S. 334 (1995)
- The Constitution of the State of California (USA): Article 1, Section 1
- Massachusetts (USA) Right of Privacy, MGL c.214, s.1B
- U.S. Judicial Redress Act of 2015
- U.S. Federal Communications Commission Proposed Rule FCC 16-39: Protecting the Privacy of Customers of Broadband and Other Telecommunications Services
- Ghana Protection Act, 2012
- South Africa’s Act No. 4 of 2013: Protection of Personal Information Act
- U.S. Court of Appeals Decision: Microsoft v United States, Docket No. 14-2985, July 14, 2016
IETF RFCs
- Legacy WHOIS protocol (RFC 3912) (2004)
- Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP - RFC 7480) (2015) and related RFCs 7481, 7482
See also RDAP Operational Profile under WHOIS Improvements above - Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP - RFC 5730) (2009) and related RFCs 5731, 5732, 5733
- Inventory and Analysis of WHOIS Registration Objects (RFC 7485) (2015)
- Privacy Considerations for Internet Protocols (RFC 6973) (2013)
Other Industry Expert Publications identified by PDP WG sub-teams thus far
- Privacy & Information Security Law Blog: Article 29 Working Party Clarifies Purpose Limitation Principles
- Anti-Phishing Working Group Advisory on Utilization of Whois Data For Phishing Site Take Down (2008)
- Book: Global Tables of Data Privacy Laws and Bills (Greenleaf, 4rd Edition, January 2015)
- Article: Global data privacy laws 2015: 109 countries, with European laws now a minority (Greenleaf)
- WorldLII Database of National Data Privacy Legislation
- Blog: The EU General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR (Simon Stickley - Capco, 12 May 2016)
Pew Research Center Surveys on Privacy:
Anonymity, Privacy, and Security Online (2013)
What Americans Think About Privacy (2014)
Teens, Social Media, and Privacy (2013)eMarketer Article: Who Do Great Britain's Internet Users Trust with Data? (2016)
Other Input Documents (summary of Background Documents page, repeated here for completeness)
- General GNSO Processes & Background
- Board & GNSO Motions
- EWG Final Report, FAQs, and Research (2014)
- EWG RDS Tutorials and Webinars (2014)
- EWG Member Individual Statements and Blogs: (2014)
- Dissenting Report from Stephanie Perrin [PDF, 108 KB] by Stephanie Perrin, EWG Member
- How to Improve WHOIS Data Accuracy, by Lanre Ajayi, EWG Member
- Where Do Old Protocols Go To Die?, by Scott Hollenbeck, EWG Member
- Some Thoughts on the ICANN EWG Recommended Registration Directory Service (RDS), by Rod Rasmussen, EWG Member
- Building a Better WHOIS for the Individual Registrant, by Carlton Samuels, EWG Member
- EP-WG Process Framework (2015)
- Issue Report & Public Comments (2015)
- WG Charter (2015)
- Affirmation of Commitments (AoC)
Additional key input documents may be added here as needed.
