What you should be aware of if using a privacy service

[mulligan]

The following is an excerpt from the recent ICANN meeting in Lisbon and you should read it and understand what Rob Hall is saying:

25th March 2007, Lisbon

Let's talk a little bit about privacy services.

Privacy services are when a registrar puts their privacy name, their name, basically, on a registration. I think the first pioneer in this area really was Go Daddy with their domains by proxy service. Almost every registrar now has one.

The interesting thing is it makes transferring in this expiry period even easier because they are already the registrant of the domain name.

The curious thing I am concerned about privacy services, and I am not trying to pass judgment on good or bad, we certainly operate one, we operate privacy.ca which is our privacy service. But in order to make you aware, a bankruptcy or decision against a privacy service means that privacy service now owns a portfolio of domains that are an asset to the creditor of that privacy service.

So I can give you an example.

We currently have a lawsuit against a bunch of people that were committing fraud in our domain marketplace. We started a lawsuit, we sued all the registrants of the domain names and one of them happened to be a domain privacy service run by a registrar.

If we're successful in the suit, we would have a judgment against potentially against that privacy service, and if they were not able to pay the judgment, we could go in and say I want the 400,000 domains that are under that privacy service that they are the registrant of, even though they may be leased or committed to other people, that's an asset of that privacy service. So people need to understand what privacy service are and how they could be attacked or sold separately from a registrar.

It's also much easier to sue a UDRP in privacy service because the privacy service may have no rights to use the domain under a UDRP.

And we're seeing that, certainly, as well.

http://www.icann.org/meetings/lisbon/transcript-tutorial-expiring-25mar07.htm

 

[DNQuest.com]

Wow, I didn't have time to read the whole article, but what you pointed out is a major bomb. I do not have privacy services, but imagine the goldmine you could have if you sued a privacy service...

 

[mulligan]

All domainers should read all the transcripts from these meetings -- It will take a while though but you don't have to do it in one sitting ...

List of transcripts:
http://www.icann.org/meetings/lisbon/

 

[Dave_Z]

I always tell people 2 simple words for things like this.

BE AWARE.

Be aware why you need privacy, what are its limitations, and what are all the
possible risks. There's little to no substitute for plain simple education.

 

[MikeBigg]

Interesting stuff -- what I don't understand is why the whois information has to be public anyway. Surely having the information accessible to upon court order or to law enforcement agencies would be satifactory. But I guess we are way past that now.

I don't see why a document stating that the domain was owned by another party wouldn't prevent the domain being considered part of the assets of the privacy company.

What are the reasons people use privacy services?

In my case I haev a couple of adult domains. I could do without the attention that they might bring.

Mike

 

[Ronald Regging]

Anyone have an easy/inexpensive solution for domain privacy?

I dont mind my name being available, but I would prefer that my home address and phone number were not. I could get a PO Box for something like $20 every 3 months, thats no big deal, but I don't want to pay for another another phone just to use in my Whois.

 

[Damion]

There are P.O. box services that offer phone answering services as well.
But buying a simple prepaid phone and card combined will be a lot cheaper for you.

Perhaps you already have a old mobile laying around somewhere all you need then is a prepaid card.

 

[IAmAllanShore]

PO Box and an online phone number, or if you already use vonage or similar service at home, they usually have a "vanity line" or similar option for $2.99 to $4.99 a month ( $4.99 for a 1-800 number, actually) that serves as only an "incoming" number. The PO Box doesn't make you anonymous, and certainly isn't any sort of lawsuit or UDRP "protection", but it is one more barrier between you and unwanted spam/harassment.
-Allan :gl:

 

[labrocca]

I have never really seen the need for whois protection to begin with (other than spam prevention). But I have always viewed privacy more risky than the reward of less spam. With privacy you don't get offers. With privacy your domain could be stolen and you might not know.

As suggested...get a PO box and for the phone number...who cares. I think in 10 years I have gotten 2 calls from whois...neither was important. Just someone that wanted to ask me a question about my site.