Don’t Mock Rightside; French Registrar Granted Data Retention Waiver

If you register a domain name in one of Rightside’s gTLDs, you will be banned from “banned from using it to mock the company or any of its employees or shareholders” reports Domain Incite, quoting the company’s Acceptable Use Policy.

The Acceptable Use Policy was published by ICANN Monday. Domain Incite notes the policy “as well as prohibiting the usual kinds of malicious hacking and spamming activity, child abuse material and so on, the policy bans: ‘holding of [United TLD Holdings] (including its affiliates) or their employees or shareholders up to public scorn, ridicule, or defamation.”

It does seem a bit precious. Also banned, notes Domain Incite is “impersonating any person or entity, including, but not limited to, a UTLDH official, or falsely stating or otherwise misrepresenting your affiliation.”

As noted in an ICANN announcement earlier, ICANN has granted a data retention waiver request to the French registrar OVH SAS. According to the ICANN announcement, “Pursuant to Section 2 of the Specification, OVH SAS submitted to ICANN a Registrar Data Retention Waiver Request (‘Waiver Request’) on the basis of OVH SAS’s contention that compliance with the data collection and/or retention requirements of the Specification violates applicable law.”

“The Waiver Request was accompanied by a legal opinion from French counsel asserting that compliance with the data collection and/or retention requirements of the Specification violates Article 6-5 de la loi du 6 janvier 1978 ainsi que la Directive 95/46/CE (Article 6-5 of the law of January 6th 1978, as the European directive 95/46/CE).”

Interested parties have 30 days to comment. “ICANN is posting this preliminary determination for a period of thirty (30) days to seek feedback and input from the community on the proposed data retention waiver. After the thirty (30) day period following this posting has expired, ICANN will consider all feedback and input received before making a final determination on whether to grant the Waiver Request.”