Whois Privacy
Whois offers many tools for registering a domain, looking up domain information to see who owns a particular name, and looking up IP address information. For most people, Whois is a very valuable resource. However, there are some pros and cons associated with the site that have to do with privacy issues.
The internet has grown into an unbelievable source of information, but along with that have come hackers and those who engage in scams to take people’s money and private information for their own use. Having a resource like Whois in place can help individuals and police find out the computer source of where such activities took place. This has made the anonymity that used to come with internet crimes less of a shield. More people are being tracked down for their internet crimes than ever before.
However, it seems that criminals and scam artists are always one step ahead of the rest of us. They have taken to registering false names for domains so that even though a scam can be tracked to a particular IP address or website, the people behind it are still eluding prosecution. They simply get another similar scam going under a different name, different domain, and different IP address. The laws now make it a crime to give false information for registering a domain name but the laws can’t be enforced if the individuals can’t be caught.
Many individuals who have a legitimate website and domain name set up don’t like the idea that their information can be so freely accessed on Whois. They feel it violates their privacy and it gives consumers, scammers, and solicitors contact information that they should not have. The debate comes regarding do we sacrifice website owners to save consumers or leave consumers to fend for themselves to protect the privacy of website owners. The answer to that question hasn’t been found with a result that is fair to everyone involved.
Whois does provide information in the best interest of the consumer and to assist law enforcement in tracking down illegal activities. It is going to take some time to convince website owners that this practice, while it can be inconvenient for them at times, is a great service to everyone who uses the internet. It also helps generate sales because consumers are more likely to purchase from a website if they know they can get contact information from another source if their inquires go unanswered.
