Californian Democratic Representative Howard Berman has urged
those selling domain names to maintain accurate customer records in
order to minimise fraudulent or illegal use of the domain names
they have purchased and has threatened to introduce new laws if the
industry does not better regulate itself.
The scrutiny afforded to the information provided on
registration is, at present, minimal. Purchasers will be asked to
provide a contact name, e-mail and geographical address and
sometimes further details, but these are unlikely to be verified by
the company selling the domain name.
Berman said, “without verification we leave the field open for
malevolent registrants,” and indicated that if domain name sellers
failed to change the situation Congress may intervene to legislate
on the matter.
The practicalities of enforcing stringent registration
requirements has led to worries that the registration process may
become unduly lengthy and burdensome.
