ICANN mandating personal info verification before domain registration

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Board of Directors today approved a new Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA). The new instruction change will hold domain name registrars more accountable for “whois” data, and mandates verification of phone numbers, email, and some personal information before a domain may be registered.

“In no small way is this agreement transformational for the domain name industry,” said Akram Atallah, President of ICANN’s Generic Domains Division. “Our multiple stakeholders weighed in, from law enforcement, to business, to consumers and what we have ended up with is something that affords better protections and positively redefines the domain name industry.”

The new RAA (PDF) mandates an abuse contact at registrars, the aforementioned verification and validation of “whois” data, delineates registrar responsibility for reseller compliance with ICANN rules, and provides enhanced compliance tools that include broader suspension and termination tools, clarification of audit rights, access to information to facilitate ongoing investigations and annual certification requirements.Read more: http://www.electronista.com/articles/13/06/29/new.rules.established.at.behest.of.law.enforcement.governments/#ixzz2XnfnwyUS