Domain-name registry and registrar members of 3 ICANN Whois task ...

and 2 of the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO), would require registrars to: (1) Ensure that disclosures about the availability of and 3rd-party access to personal data associated with domain names “actually be presented” to registrants during registration. “Linking to an external web page is not sufficient.” (2) Obtain separate acknowledgement from registrants that they've read and understood the disclosures. (3) Make sure disclosures are set aside from other registration agreement provisions if given to registrants with that agreement. Disclosure wording should be as uniform as feasible. The proposal, was voted on April 19 by all 3 Whois task forces. Constituencies in favor included Commercial & Business Users, Intellectual Property, Noncommercial Users, and ISPs and Connectivity Providers. Registrar members of the combined group said the recommendations, if adopted as policy rather than as suggestions, would destabilize the registration process by making it less simple and transparent. They also said adding a new and separate acknowledgment process would be cumbersome and impractical. Registry members said adopting the recommendation as proposed wouldn’t significantly affect their constituency, but its negative impact on registrars “would make registry-registrar relationships more difficult, and the increased cost of compliance with a complex and unnecessary policy would make the use of domain names less desirable.” Both constituencies agreed registrants deserve better notification on a voluntary basis. Comments on the combined Whois task force preliminary report on the recommendation are due May 12 -- gnso-whois-tf- rpt@icann.org.