Tensions are rising around Whois. As it was repeatedly reported, the rules of the service stipulate, in particular, publication of contact information for domain name registrants and this contradicts the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which comes into effect in EU countries in May 2018. Earlier, ICANN President Goran Marby sent a letter to the government agencies responsible for personal data protection in all 28 EU countries asking for help in finding a compromise that would preserve the current Whois model. Marby also proposed introducing a moratorium on GDPR enforcement for registrants and registries until such a compromise was reached.
The EU reaction gives no grounds for optimism. The European Commission’s Article 29 Working Party (WP29) sent its response insisting on a reduction in the publication of user data on Whois. In addition, the party wants to differentiate the access to personal data and to restrict the user categories that can be granted access. In particular, WP29 agrees it is necessary to allow law enforcement agencies to access registrants’ data, but denies access to, for example, trademark owners and cybersecurity experts. The request for a moratorium was ignored.
News blog Domain Incite reports on the developments and focuses on the paradox of the situation. ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee, which includes representatives of all EU countries and the European Commission, had unanimously called for retaining the existing model. This suggests the EU states want to protect two completely different approaches at the same time. ICANN President Goran Marby said that ICANN was considering all possible options, including appealing to European courts. However, there is still hope for a consensus: on April 23 the ICANN delegation will take part in a meeting of the WP29 technological council in Brussels, so maybe some contradictions will be eradicated during the discussions.
