Dear Cooperation SIG Members,

The next meeting of the Cooperation SIG is at 16:00 on Tuesday, 11
September during APNIC 46 in Noumea, New Caledonia.

The Cooperation SIG is a forum for discussing broader Public Policy
issues pertaining to Internet and its Governance.

The theme for the Cooperation SIG at APNIC 46 is "Whois - Challenges of
data protection and privacy".

Whois database is an important component of the registry system
whether it be Internet number resources or domain names. Specifically,
it contains information about the legal entity that holds such
resources, comprising the name, postal address, email, telephone and
other contact information for the organization/entity.Globally, WHOIS
service and protocol is the subject of intensive discussion within
(and outside) the numbers as well as in the naming community. Whois
data base is structured in a manner, where any one can access the data
any time.

However, two developments which have taken place recently , brings the
issue of data protection and privacy at the center stage . One is the
way Cambridge Analytica breached the data, where millions of personal
data was swiped . Another is the European privacy law ,better known as
General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) which may conflict with the
way we presently use the data. This may call for a significant change
in the way whois data will be structured in the future. Also there
will be profound change in the way we access the whois database today.
Thus the data (information ) will be subject to varied needs of the
privacy, data protection, security, disclosure and access. What
information is being collected in the Whois databases? What
information is disclosed and protected? And, most importantly, How?

This session will run for 90 minutes to hear from various
stakeholders on these challenges and try to understand their
needs and expectations.

If you are attending APNIC 46 and are interested in presenting to the
SIG, please send a short synopsis to <sig-cooperation-chair@apnic.net>.

The deadline for proposals is: Friday, 24 August 2018.

We look forward to seeing you in Noumea.


Best Regards,
Dr. Govind & Bikram
Cooperation SIG Chairs