ICANN Announcements

Read ICANN Announcements to stay informed of the latest policymaking activities, regional events, and more.

Plan for Thin to Thick Whois Transition Available for Public Comment

26 October 2016

In addition to the U.N. six languages, this content is also available in

LOS ANGELES – 26 October 2016 – The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) today published [PDF, 66 KB] a proposed plan for implementing policy recommendations regarding Thick Whois. The plan requires gTLDs currently providing thin Whois services – .COM, .NET and .JOBS – to transition to thick Whois. Comments will be accepted until 23:59 UTC on 15 December 2016.

Comment on the plan.

The Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) policy recommendations state that,

“The provision of thick Whois services, with a consistent labeling and display as per the model outlined in specification 3 of the 2013 [Registrar Accreditation Agreement], should become a requirement for all gTLD registries, both existing and future.” ICANN and a community-based Implementation Review Team have determined that consistent labeling and display and thick Whois should be addressed separately. A revised version of the Registry Registration Data Directory Services Consistent Labeling and Display Policy was posted for public comment on 21 October 2016.

Learn More:

About ICANN

ICANN's mission is to help ensure a stable, secure and unified global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet, you have to type an address into your computer - a name or a number. That address has to be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN helps coordinate and support these unique identifiers across the world. ICANN was formed in 1998 as a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation and a community with participants from all over the world. ICANN and its community help keep the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It also promotes competition and develops policy for the top-level of the Internet's naming system and facilitates the use of other unique Internet identifiers. For more information please visit: www.icann.org.