Is it wrong to lie on your whois info?

Posted by kent on July 28th, 2009

When you register a domain with a web host, you're asked for your name, address, and telephone number. And, as we've pointed out before, this becomes part of the public record (which is why we talk about domain privacy in our reviews). But maybe you're wondering why you should bother putting down the correct information anyway. Why not register every domain to "Jon Doe at 1234 Anystreet, Anytown, anystate 99999"? In other words, do you have to tell the truth when you register the domain?

Sure, most of us have given a purposefully incorrect piece of personal information to someone when we feel it doesn't matter (just why does the Pottery Barn need my zipcode, anyway?). But there are times when it does matter (i.e., every April 15th when the Government wants to know your real income). If you lie to the IRS you can go to jail. What if you lie to the people who collect whois info? And who is asking for that whois info anyway?

Contrary to popular belief, the Internet is not a lawless land. Not entirely. All domain registration is governed by ICANN, the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. One of their big jobs is governing the creation of tld's (top level domains) such as .org, .com, .biz. Here's what they say about themselves:

"It is a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation with participants from all over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It promotes competition and develops policy on the Internet's unique identifiers."

Part of that "keeping the Internet secure" involves an interest in domains being registered to real people at real places. Whois info is used to keep people accountable for their websites. Even if you've privatized your whois info, law enforcement can go to your web host with a subpoena to get that information.

Truth be told, there's nothing stopping anyone from lying on their registration info. If someone's going to illegally distribute pirated copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Price, they're probably going to lie. So, why shouldn't you, the honest and upstanding website owner, lie and hold onto the $10 per year you're paying your web host for domain privacy?

Besides that it's just "the right thing to do" (whatever that's worth in this day and age), it does go against ICANN's rules and can have consequences. Now, ICANN isn't out knocking on doors and taking away domains when no one answers. But violators can be reported, and in such cases they can lose their domains. If someone wants your domain, and they find out that you're reporting false whois info, they may report you. Also, since ICANN requires your domain registrar to collect the correct info, your web host probably requires it too. Putting down the incorrect information probably violates your terms of service with them.

Now, the web is full of stories of people who have been successfully lying about their domain registration for years. But keeping your whois info up-to-date (and private) is probably the best way to stay out of entanglements. It at least keeps you on the right side of the ICANN policies, keeping you in a good position if your domain is ever under dispute.

Check out our web hosting reviews for more on domain costs, web hosting, registrations, and domain privacy.