Neustar, the domain registry for the .US domain extension, intends to introduce whois privacy for .US domains.
The announcement came during the .US TownHall that Neustar recently held. It was one of several talking points during the TownHall webcast. From what Neustar representatives said during the last .US TownHall it was the most requested action that Neustar take with .US domains. In addition Neustar said during the .US TownHall they get requests from customers and registrars to add a whois privacy option for .US domains all the time.
Currently whois privacy, which shields domain registrants' information from the public, is not available for .US domains. Many country code top level domains (ccTLDs) do not allow for whois privacy. The reason is that country domains, like .US, have specific requirements on who can register and own them. To make sure people and companies meet that criteria many ccTLD operators do not allow whois privacy.
Since whois data includes address information many people prefer to use domain privacy with their domain names. Think of the whois database as somewhat similar to birth records or marriage certificates. Except people can access it digitally on a browser, which is great for spammers not for everyone else.
In recent years many other country code top level domain (ccTLD) registries have moved to start allowing for domain privacy. Recently New Zealand's ccTLD .NZ made moves to roll out a whois privacy service for individual registrants. The move to allow who is privacy seems partly due to all the new domain extensions that have been released in the last two – three years. New domain extensions allow for whois privacy.
Our neighbors to the north, Canada, with .CA have allowed private individuals to have whois privacy at the registry level for years. Many other ccTLD registries have also allowed.
It should be noted that .US whois privacy policy is still being worked out. Neustar has to write up a proposal then sent it to the United States Department of Commerce, which contracts with Neustar to run the .US domain extension, for approval. It will happen at some point in the future but is likely a long way away. We are counting on a slow company and highly bureaucratic government organization to allow .US whois privacy. It will obviously take awhile for this to happen. 🙂
Unlike .CA, which doesn't charge at the registry level for domain privacy, Neustar intends to make some money. During the .US TownHall I was told they were thinking of charging between $0.50 cents – $1 dollar for .US whois privacy. Neustar said they wanted to make a way for domain registrars that offer .US to make money and cover administrative fees. I'm not sure if they intend to keep to the $$0.50 – $1.00 promise as stated in the TownHall. Honestly I doubt Neustar will keep it inexpensive.
.US TownHall – IDNs and Premium .US Domains
Other talking points at the .US TownHall was the consideration of releasing International Domain Names (IDNs) for .US domains. This would mean what is to the left of the dot, the domain, could be other languages besides English. I doubt this would be popular with .US domains but hey, Neustar wants to make more money.
Also Neustar is considering releasing 1 and 2 character .US domains at auction. I believe they are also considering releasing some premium .US domain names they own. Neustar holds back many premium words like Home.us, Domain.us, etc. When and if this will happen remains to be seen. I assume just like offer .US whois privacy they would have to ask the Depart of Commerce for permission first. I'm not entirely sure though.
.US Future
While I think moving to offer .US whois privacy is a great move for Neustar, the .US TownHall didn't leave me confident in the .US future. Neustar claims they are hard at work promoting .US at code workshops, start-up events, and other places. They also pumped the marketing they have done for the .US domain space.
Seems it is mostly “smoke and mirrors” as Neustar representatives proudly stated there are over 2 million .US domains registered. This was due to a recent promotion at a domain name registrar that offer .US domain registrations for only $0.10 cents. The .US domain grew by 300,000 domains in only a few days. This pushed .US domains over 2 million domain registrations but few of these domains are likely to be renewed.
I asked how they intended to increase usage and registration numbers without running registration deals like this. The answer was mostly that those teaser first year registration deals are “common industry practice” and they were working on marketing at events. The .US stakeholder council and .US TownHall were designed to connect with the public.
Still I doubt any of this is enough to catch up to other country extensions market penetration such as .UK (United Kingdom) and .DE (Germany). Both .UK and .DE are widely use and recognized in by citizens of Germany and the United Kingdom. Obviously the .US domain is not known by many Americans. The preference in America is .COM domains.
Perhaps President Donald Trump will push Americans to adopt .US domains? That would be patriotic and “Make America Great Again”. Let just “Make .US Great!” Wishful thinking but anything is possible.
.US whois privacy is a great and positive move in my opinion by Neustar. I've had many people and clients say to me they might have registered a .US domain. They were turned off by the fact they couldn't use whois privacy though. It is a major drawback.
What are your thoughts about .US and Neustar? Do you believe .US whois privacy is a positive move? What else should Neustar do to have .US get adopted on a wider scale?
