As the Internet industry continues to thrive, the malicious use of domain names also continues to rise. For instance, in domain name registration, some domain name owners still do not disclose reliable contact information. Hence, there is no straightforward approach yet on how to manage the incidences of domain name abuse, and catch the perpetrators of illegal online activities, such as phishing.

There is currently no standard approach among registries and registrars when it comes to curbing domain name registration abuse. In particular, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) continues to struggle as to how to uphold the accuracy and reliability of the WHOIS database. Thus, the discussion on domain registration policies was among the highlights of the third day of the 37th ICANN Meeting, which is being held at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, Kenya.

Greg Aaron, the Chair of the Registration Abuse Policies Working Group (WG) presented before ICANN participants their WG"s initial report. Aaron says that while ICANN upholds that it is not the police on the Internet, it may consider to explore the possibility of authorizing the suspension of domain names for malicious uses. More important, the WG recommends an extensive survey among registries and registrars to determine the best practices that are being used in solving the issues of domain name abuses. While a standardization of the best practices are not likely, the registries and registrars should explore more options in helping to eliminate the problems on domain name abuses.

The WG"s initial report is available at the ICANN website and it is currently seeking public participation before further steps are made.