E-Commerce Update December 2007 - International developments

ICANN to implement WHOIS National Laws Procedure

On 18 December 2007, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) published a notice that the ICANN Procedure for Handling WHOIS Conflicts with Privacy Law (Procedure) (which was recently revised by the Governmental Advisory Committee) will be implemented on 17 January 2008. The Procedure outlines the appropriate steps that ICANN should take in the event of a conflict between a registrar’s obligations under its ICANN contract and local or national privacy law. The Procedure specifically applies to the collection, display and distribution of personal data via WHOIS and involves the following steps:

• ICANN notifies the registrar of the WHOIS proceeding
• ICANN consults with the local or national enforcement authorities and the registrar
• ICANN’s General Counsel provides analysis and makes a recommendation
• ICANN Board develops a resolution to approve, reject or modify the recommendation or else to seek additional information, schedule a public comment period or refer the recommendation to the Generic Names Supporting Organisation
• ICANN’s General Counsel recommendation and Board resolution are made public, and
• the effectiveness of the Procedure is subjected to ongoing annual review.

For further information please visit the ICANN website.

For more information please contact

Name : Duncan Giles
Title : Special Counsel
Office : Sydney
Phone : +61 2 9225 5954
Fax : +61 2 9322 4000
Email : duncan.giles@freehills.com