Move Toward Web Site Anonymity

The organization that runs the Internet is considering a rule change that would prevent corporate and government investigators from finding the owners of fraudulent Web sites.

The Internet Corp. for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) now requires that anyone who owns a Web site must register, on a database called "Whois,” the name, address and phone number of a contact person able to resolve both technical problems with a site and administrative issues.

ICANN is a nongovernmental organization based in Marina del Rey, Calif.

Earlier this month, an ICANN committee heeded the call from privacy advocates and voted to restrict its listings solely to a contact who can resolve technical "configuration” problems, the Wall Street Journal reports. The full ICANN board is expected to approve the change.

"That means a Web-hosting company could be listed without any link to the person who controls what appears on the site,” according to the Journal.

Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Electronic Privacy Information Center, supports the move, saying bloggers and others who operate their own sites won’t have to fear stalkers or lawsuit threats.

But law-enforcement agencies around the world and companies such as Microsoft Corp. and Walt Disney Co. oppose the plan, claiming they need ready access to the information now in Whois to combat financial fraud and trademark violation.

For example, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina the American Red Cross used Whois to shut down dozens of unauthorized Web sites that were soliciting money under the Red Cross logo.

The U.S. government has reportedly indicated it wants more disclosure rather than less.

But according to the Journal, Rotenberg says the government is in a "delicate political position” because it wants ICANN to retain control of the Internet rather than the United Nations, as some countries have proposed. So it is crucial for ICANN to function as an independent body – even if it sometimes goes against U.S. policy.