A Proposal for More Privacy in Domain Name Personal Data

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is embarking on an inquiry into whether more privacy protections are necessary for people who have registered “.us” domains on the Internet. NTIA administers the contract for the country code top-level domain, for the United States, .us. The .us domain is used by American businesses, individuals, and localities. NTIA’s contractor, Registry Services, is required by the agency to maintain a publicly accessible database of .us domain name registrations. Registry Services provides a directory service that allows anyone to obtain registration data without any authentication. NTIA is working on multiple fronts to address data privacy concerns. To better protect the personal information of .us domain registration holders, NTIA is seeking comment on a Registry Services’ proposal that would require those that request access to registration data to provide an email address, identify a legitimate purpose, and accept Terms of Service. NTIA’s request for comment seeks input on this proposal, including whether the current system should be maintained, what should be considered a legitimate purpose, and whether the system, if adopted, should be offered as an opt-in or opt-out service for .us registrants. Comments are due May 31, 2023.