AuDA recently announced they are reviewing the current WHOIS Policy, considering greater access to .au registry information.

As part of the review, auDA have released an Issues Paper, allowing public comment on the current policy which has been in place since 2010.

WHOIS allows users to search a domain name to receive information regarding its registration, however only a limited amount of information is available to the public.

AuDA is basing the report around two topics:

• “Should there be any changes to auDA’s WHOIS Policy covering the collection, disclosure and use of WHOIS data for .au domain names?”
• “Should access to .au domain name data (other than via WHOIS) be opened up?”

The first point discusses the disclosure of registrant contact information on WHOIS, which is currently limited to an email address. One concern is that opening the space to more information could see registrants that are unwilling to reveal phone numbers and addresses provide false information, leading to a “degradation of accuracy and integrity.”

The second point discusses a review of the functionality of WHOIS as the only site providing public access to domain information. Currently, it only allows searches by domain name, reveals limited registrant information (additional information is only available upon request from law enforcement authorities), and places a restriction on searches per hour, disallowing bulk access to domain names.

Users are encouraged to contribute their opinion and advice via the Issues Paper. All public submissions are listed on the auDA site, unedited. Submission deadline is Friday 31 January 2014.

This article is sponsored by Discount Domain Name Services, Cheaper Domains , and Information Brokers .