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Call for changes in allocating domain names
Reforms were needed to ensure high-profile personalities' names were not misused for websites, Australia's domain administrator said yesterday.
Chris Disspain, chief executive of auDA, a not-for-profit company vested with the responsibility of operating the .au domain, said the dire situation had been most starkly shown in a recent incident during the Queensland election campaign.
A Brisbane-based man, known only as Jenny Dots, registered the website name peterbeattie.com, which referred web surfers to the Liberals' and Nationals' home pages.
Mr Disspain said anyone registering a .com.au domain would find it a lot more difficult to not only secure a prominent person's name but remain anonymous.
Other internet administrators could improve their systems by following the model set by auDA, he said.
"auDA has strict eligibility policies for people wanting to register .au domain names," Disspain said.
"These policies make it extremely difficult for people to register .au domain names that are not relevant to them, their business or for using them maliciously."
Disspain said auDA insisted that all personal details regarding registrants were accurate and truthful.
This was unlike the .com "Who Is" database which allowed individuals or companies to register domains using fake registration details, Mr Disspain said.
He said auDA could not assist Beattie in reclaiming the name, that was rightfully his own, from the international administrator of .com, ICANN, but the incident served as a warning.
Source : The Sydney Morning Herald
