ANA Urges ICANN to Avoid Overreaction to GDPR

Today, ANA called on the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to urge the organization not to move forward with proposed changes to the WHOIS system. The WHOIS system is a service that provides basic information on a registered internet domain name, such as owner contact information and domain availability status. ANA stated that the proposed changes to WHOIS are a “clear overreaction” in response to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). ICANN is the organization which oversees the global Domain Name System (DNS) and various other internet protocol and number assignments.

The WHOIS system has proven to be an important tool in fighting online crime, piracy, counterfeiting, and intellectual property infringement for decades. Its viability should not be threatened by overly restrictive responses to GDPR mandates. To view ANA’s letter to ICANN, please click here.