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ARTICLE · 25 MAY 2018

Will WHOIS 'Go Dark' On 25 May?

Mishcon de Reya LLP
Mishcon de Reya LLP
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Mishcon de Reya LLP

Mishcon de Reya LLP

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For intellectual property owners policing their rights on the internet, domain name WHOIS services have been a hugely valuable tool.

United KingdomPrivacy
Jon Baines
Jon Baines
Nina O'Sullivan
Nina O'Sullivan

For intellectual property owners policing their rights on the internet, domain name WHOIS services have been a hugely valuable tool. Not only do they give brand owners access to information to identify who is infringing their rights, but they also track patterns of abuse by particular infringers. For some years, however, there have been questions over how publishing personal data on WHOIS squares with data privacy laws – these questions have now come to the fore with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) taking effect across the EU from 25 May 2018.

ICANN's proposed interim GDPR compliance model was thought by many to have come too late, particularly given that there has been a two year period in order to get ready for the impact of GDPR.  ICANN, alongside a number of brand owner organisations, also asked for a moratorium on enforcement under GDPR by national Data Protection Authorities to lift the threat of a WHOIS blackout. However, the EU data protection

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