GDPR and WHOIS

In order to comply with the rules with respect to the new European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), various domain registries are restricting the contact details that are displayed in public WHOIS records for the domains in their respective registries. The data being published currently variously from one registry to the other. Some hide a few details while others hide a whole lot more.

The ICANN Board of Directors adopted by resolution the Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data. The Temporary Specification provides a single, unified interim model that ensures a common framework for handling registration data, including registration directory services (e.g. WHOIS). It aims to ensure the continued availability of WHOIS to the greatest extent possible while maintaining the security and stability of the Internet’s system of unique identifiers.

Web4Africa is monitoring the situation and would implement the best solution for WHOIS lookup (or whichever solution ICANN comes up with finally) that complies with ICANN regulations as well as the EU’s GDPR.

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