WHOIS data and the GDPR: have your say
WHOIS data is essential for the effective enforcement of intellectual property rights. Without it, identifying the individuals behind websites undertaking infringing activities becomes problematic. However, some registrars have not obtained explicit consent (by way of opt-in) from registrants to publish the personal data. This falls foul of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), due to come into effect by 25 May 2018.
As a result, some registrars, including ICANN and nominet (the .uk domain registrar) are proposing to vary their practices, including omitting the names and contact details of registrants. This may hinder intellectual property enforcement.
To have a say in how registrars develop their policies, we encourage IP owner to participate in the respective consultations being run by the registrars.
ICANN draft compliance for discussion
Read ICANN's interim model for compliance with ICANN agreements and policies in relation to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation - for discussion. Issued 08 March 2018.
ICANN GDPR compliance (PDF)Nominet .uk GDPR consultation
Nominet's comment period on GDPR changes to .uk runs until 06 April 2018. Further information is available via an update from Nominet.
Nominet comment period