Re: [ga] WHOIS data on .org domains

["John Berryhill Ph.D. J.D." <john@johnberryhill.com>]

From: "Ram Mohan" <rmohan@afilias.info>
>
> At this point, the only information that PIR's database has regarding
> <hizbollah.org> is that Network Solutions is the sponsoring registrar for
> the domain, as well as domain creation/update/expiration information and
> nameserver information -- similar to .COM & .NET today.
>
> Upon transition to a thick registry, the contact information will be stored
> in PIR's databases, but the "ownership" of this information remains that of
> the sponsoring registrar (like today).

I understand the point, but the "ownership" concept is not going to help PIR.

Did you notice that the Iraq Satellite Television Channel happened to lose
their domain name at iraqtv.ws this week, and that somehow the domain name
has been rendered unregistrable in the .ws TLD?  There is a reason for that.
Did you notice that the Iraqi government domain name uruklink.net is no
longer registered through Register.com.  There is a reason for that, too.

My question was about "knowledge", not "ownership".   When you are getting
paid for supplying technical support services, what matters is whether you
know to whom those services are being rendered.  Right now, PIR can deny
knowledge that it is being paid for supplying services ultimately rendered to
Hezbollah, an OFAC-designated organization.  When the "thick" transition is
made, they lose that deniability.

I'll give you an example that perhaps you can relate to.  The technical
contact for the .iq top-level domain is in jail in Texas for, among other
allegations, sending computer parts to Malta.  Is it illegal to send computer
parts to Malta?  Nope.  But the US government alleges that those parts were
trans-shipped, with his knowledge, to destinations in Syria and Libya.

What matters is what you know.  The fact that Verisign is the primary
contractor to Hezbollah in the case of hizbollah.org doesn't get the registry
off the hook once they know that it is *their* servers which are providing
the authoritative answer for queries seeking hizbollah.org, thus rendering
tangible technical support to an OFAC-designated terrorist organization in
contravention of US law.  Does US law rule the internet?  Nope.  Does it rule
where PIR is, and more importantly, where PIR's directors, management, and
employees are?  It surely does.

OFAC compliance can be automated, thanks to data files available from the US
Treasury Department and third-party vendors.  There is no "oh, gee, but we
have a lot of customers" excuse for violating OFAC regulations, and providing
technical support on a commercial basis to OFAC designated organizations is
not some kind of free speech issue.



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