A quick and inexplicable decision was made to disallow private registrations for .US domain names.
In early February of this year, a decision was made by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration ("NTIA") (http://www.ntia.doc.gov/)to no longer allow private registrations for .US domain names. For the record, the NTIA is part of the United States Department of Commerce. This article provides background as to how and why private domain name registrations came about, why the NTIA decision was inappropriate, and why this harms you.

You need to be alarmed about the NTIA decision, regardless of what domain names you own.
First, don't make the mistake of thinking "I don't own .US domain names, so this won't affect me." It's true, the cancellation of privacy I am reporting to you now, just affects .US registrations. But I assure you, .US is just the first battlefield, it's the test to see if we will allow our privacy to be taken away. If we allow this to happen, the next step is to take away our right to privacy for .COM and other top level domain names. And then, if we lose this privacy, who knows what's next to go.

Private registrations started with a female customer who was in a panic.
Just after the 9/11 disaster, I received a message to phone a new female customer who was in a panic. I was told she had purchased a domain name from us about a month or so earlier, and had used it to set up a very nice website for her new small business. I was also told that she now wanted to delete her domain name and take down her website.

She was a victim of a brutal stalker.
After I called, and she picked up the phone, it was obvious she was terrified. What had her so upset was that for the past few years, she had been the victim of a malicious male stalker, and had since done everything she could to evade this monster. She believed that she had finally arranged her life where the stalker could no longer find her.

She was horrified to learn that all of her personal information had been made public.
When she purchased her domain name, she provided all of her personal contact information. She then learned, to her absolute horror, that all of the information (name, address, phone, etc.) she provided became part of the public Whois directory – which then became available (24/7) to anyone.

A quick decision protected our customer's privacy and saved her business.
After spending a few minutes talking to this terrified woman, I made a quick decision. I told her that I would replace all of her personal contact information in the Whois database with GoDaddy.com's contact information.

Private domain name registrations were born.
Changing the registration from her name to GoDaddy.com's name, accomplished two things:
1. Our female customer's privacy was protected, and she was able to continue with her online business. She, as you might guess, was very grateful, and GoDaddy.com won a customer for life.
2. I got the idea to formulate and start offering private registrations.

Go Daddy offers private registrations through Domains By Proxy, Inc.
The private registrations we eventually offered were done through our affiliate, Domains By Proxy, Inc. ("DBP")(http://www.domainsbyproxy.com/). The way a private registration works, is that DBP takes actual ownership of the domain name. DBP then provides its contact information in the Whois database in place of the personal information of the person using the domain name. The user of the domain is then provided with an agreement that gives them all the benefits of ownership (i.e., the user can point the domain name where they want, they can sell it later, transfer it away, etc. – in short they use the domain name just as if they registered it in their own name).

Only law abiding domain owners benefit from privacy.
The user of the domain name also promises not to use the domain name for any illegal or undesirable purpose. If DBP learns that one of its customers is using a domain name for anything improper, like slander, spam, phishing, trademark or copyright violations or any other immoral or illegal activity, the privacy protection is immediately cancelled.

There are many benefits to a private domain name registration.
People who pay for private registrations benefit greatly from increased privacy. First, they receive protection from harassers and stalkers. Private registration holders can still be contacted through email, but this is done anonymously and is filtered by DBP, as directed by the customer. There are also other benefits. Private registration holders are far less likely to receive SPAM, be a victim of identity theft or data mining.

Today, most registrars offer private registrations.
Many domain registrars have followed GoDaddy.com's lead, and now offer their customers some form of privacy protection. Privacy protection is available on all ICANN accredited domain names (i.e., .COM, .NET, .ORG, .BIZ, .INFO and .NAME).

GoDaddy.com has been offering private .US domain name registrations for over two years.
Since the .US domain name became available over two years ago, we've been offering private registrations through DBP. Unlike .COM, .NET and the other domain names that fall under the jurisdiction of ICANN, .US falls under the control of the NTIA.

The "NTIA" decided, with 2 weeks notice, that private .US registrations were to cease.
On February 2, 2005, we were informed by the registry that manages .US (NeuStar, Inc. http://www.neustar.us/), that they were contacted by the NTIA and directed that effective February 16, 2005, private .US registrations must cease. This would be very similar to making unlisted phone numbers illegal.

The NTIA decision was not transparent. Those affected were not asked for input.
Government decision making is supposed to be transparent. But this is not what happened. Instead, the decision to disallow private registrations for .US domain names was made by an (as yet) unnamed employee within the NTIA, without government hearings of any kind. Those affected by this decision were afforded no opportunity to provide commentary as to what effect or hardship it might have upon them.

People who purchased private .US registrations are now "out of luck."
When existing private registrations come up for renewal (but no later than January 26, 2006 —- another quick, arbitrary date) —- individuals who own private .US registrations will have their personal information made public.

We immediately sent our key people to Washington.
Upon learning of this decision, our key personnel went to Washington, D.C. to talk to representatives of the NTIA. The people at the NTIA would not identify the official who made the decision to discontinue private registrations for .US domain names, or even disclose how the decision came about.

We explained why private registrations should be allowed.
We pointed out to the NTIA representatives we met with, that private registrations — because people pay a small fee to have them made private — actually provide the most accurate form of contact information in the Whois database. While this information is not available to the general public, it is always available to law enforcement agencies. It is also available to the court system when there are contract disputes. We made it very clear that private registrations are only intended for, and benefit, law abiding citizens.

We even offered up law enforcement agencies who support private registrations.
We provided the NTIA with a letter from a Federal law enforcement agency that supports private domain name registrations, and offered to provide them names of other law enforcement agencies who support private domain name registrations. To our disappointment, the NTIA was not interested in any of this information.

The NTIA said its quick, inexplicable decision was final.
Throughout the entire, frustrating meeting with the NTIA's representatives, they simply stonewalled us and refused to consider any of our arguments. They made it clear the decision had been made and that was the end of it.

We have asked officials from both the House and Senate for their help.
We have been in touch with both the Senate and House of Representatives Commerce Committees (to whom the Department of Commerce reports). Both of these Committees have promised to write to the NTIA to learn why they made such a decision. Unfortunately, that's going to take time, and in the interim private .US registrations will go away.

Our right to privacy should never be given up without a fight.
One of the major privileges we have as law abiding Americans, is the right to our personal privacy. Many of us would find it unthinkable to be without private or unlisted telephone numbers, or even the ability to block caller ID. Yet here we have a situation where we have a bureaucrat (once again one who refuses to be identified), who arbitrarily made a decision that will violate the privacy of thousands of law abiding Americans.

You can help by writing to your Senators and Congressperson.
If you feel (as I do) that the NTIA is dead wrong in denying you your right to privacy, and want to help to block this outrage, I ask that you consider sending an email to your elected Federal legislators. When you write your Senator and Congressperson they will write to the NTIA — so it's important that you contact them. You can find the email address of your representatives at the following two Websites:

• For the United States House of Representatives, go to http://www.house.gov/ and enter your zip code. You will be provided with the name and email contact for your Congressperson. You will need to enter your zip code as the 5 digit code, plus the additional 4 digits. If you don't know the additional four digits, there is a tool provided to help you find this out.
  
• For the United State Senate, go to http://www.senate.gov/ and select your state. You will be provided with the name and web form to contact your Senators.
  

Here is suggested text that you might copy and paste into your email.
If you decide to contact your Congressperson or Senators, here is a suggested email form. I encourage you to modify it as you see fit. If you own a private registration, you should say so in the email form and explain why it is important to you.

Dear Congressperson or Senator:

I recently become aware of a decision made by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration ("NTIA") that prohibits private domain name registrations for .US domain names. This decision was made by the NTIA unilaterally, and without public hearings of any kind. I believe that the NTIA's decision violates my right to privacy as an American, and goes against the legislation enacted by Congress in recent years to enhance the privacy of individuals. I ask that you contact the NTIA and have them explain why they made this decision, and why they feel they have the right to deny me, as a law abiding citizen, my right to privacy.

I also ask that you direct the NTIA to reverse its decision, and once again allow private registrations for .US domain names.

Sincerely,

(Please be sure to include your name and complete address)

If you already own a private domain name registration, please post a comment here.
If you own a private registration, please tell us why it is important to you, by posting a comment on this Blog. Please note that the email address you provide is not made public.

Please help fight this violation of our privacy.
I am personally very protective of my privacy, and feel that as long as I am a law abiding citizen, it should never be compromised or taken away. I ask that you join me in taking a stand against this violation of our rights as Americans.

Special important note to the reader
Thus far I've heard from a number of readers who have suggested that I either do this, or I do that, in order to take on the NTIA with regard to their .US decision. This makes me think that maybe I've not made myself quite clear in this article. I've done just about all I can do, by stepping up and bringing this issue to light. You should note that all other registrars quietly complied with the NTIA directive. GoDaddy.com is the only one who has stepped up and spoken out. I believe the other registrars complied, without saying a word, because they feared the wrath of the NTIA. If the NTIA decision is going to be reversed, the only way that will get reversed is if we get a sufficient number of people to write to their elected representatives. I don't see it changing any way. So if you are upset (as I am) by the NTIA, you absolutely must take the time to email your feelings to your Congressperson and Senators. Now is also the time to alert every internet user you can reach out to of this problem. You must encourage them to write their elected representatives. If you do nothing and instead rely on others to act for you, your privacy simply will continue to erode. Once again, I've done just about all I can. The rest is now up to you.