Feds Do About-Face on .US Domains, Invade Privacy of Domain Holders
I just checked my e-mail after getting out of a meeting, and found some ugly news about a fresh new abuse of power on the part of the United States government. The bearer of this bad news was Bob Parsons, president and founder of domain registrar GoDaddy.com, who sends occasional e-mail updates out to GoDaddy registrants.
So what’s the big deal? With no hearings, no consultation with domain registrars, and no due process of any kind, the National Telecommunications and Information Association (NITA) has reversed the policy of making .us domains available to the public. Worse, they’ve decreed that holders of these domains will no longer be able to keep their personal information private.
Parson’s e-mail message gives some of the details:
Dear Valued Go Daddy Customer,
Today I have the unfortunate responsibility of informing you that there has been a decision made by bureaucrats of a Federal agency that takes away your right to privacy as guaranteed by the United States Constitution.
This decision was unilaterally made by the National Telecommunications and Information Association (”NTIA”) www.ntia.doc.gov without hearings that would determine the impact on those affected, and delivered without notice — in short, the NTIA decision was made without due process of any kind. This is exactly how our government is not supposed to work.
The effect of this decision is to disallow new private domain name registrations on .US domain names. In addition, if you already own a private .US domain name registration, you will be forced to forfeit your privacy no later than January 26, 2006. By that time, you will need to choose between either making your personal information available to anyone who wants to see it, or giving up your right to that domain name.
I personally find it ironic that our right to .US privacy was stripped away, without due process, by a federal government agency — an agency that should be looking out for our individual rights. For the NTIA to choose the .US extension is the ultimate slap in your face. .US is the only domain name that is specifically intended for Americans (and also those who have a physical presence in our great country). So think about this for a moment. These bureaucrats stripped away the privacy that you’re entitled to as an American, on the only domain name that says that you are an American. I am outraged by this — you should be also.
If, like me, you are outraged at the NTIA’s decision to strip away our constitutional right to privacy, www.TheDangerOfNoPrivacy.com will provide you with a petition to sign. (Only your name will be published, your address and email information will be kept private.) This Web site also provides a very easy way for you to send either a fax or an email, expressing your outrage, to your Congressperson and Senators. This is all provided at no cost to you. All that is required is for you to take the time to visit www.TheDangerOfNoPrivacy.com sign the petition, and send the fax or email to your legislators.
On my personal Blog, www.BobParsons.com there are a number of articles where you can learn more about the NTIA’s unfortunate decision and what you can do to help get it reversed.
I also will be talking about our right to privacy on Radio Go Daddy, our weekly radio show that debuts today, March 30, at 7 PM PST. To find out how to listen in, please visit the Web site dedicated to the show, www.RadioGoDaddy.com.
You can be sure that I, and everyone at GoDaddy.com, will do everything in our power to get the NTIA decision reversed. However, we need your help. Please visit www.TheDangerOfNoPrivacy.com to sign the petition and express your feelings to your Congressperson and Senators.
Sincerely,
Bob Parsons
President and Founder
GoDaddy.com
I’ve signed the petition, and recommend that others concerned about this issue do the same.
A recent post on Parsons’s weblog offers up a good discussion of what kind of information we should be able to protect, how this policy change will affect domain holders, the importance of privacy online, and the distinction between privacy (good) and anonymity (bad). Definitely recommended reading for a good understanding of the topic at hand here.
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