Domain Registrar's Collection of Information Appropriate: Privacy Commissioner

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada has found that it was appropriate, and not a breach of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), for a domain registrar to request that a web site operator provide a copy of his driver's licence or passport in order to change the administration e-mail address for the web site domain name. The web site operator was not the registrant for the web site. The registrar, concerned about the prevalence of domain name hijacking, had requested confirmation of the web site operator's identity as a security measure. The Privacy Commissioner found that the registrar's purpose for requesting the personal information was not excessive and was appropriate in the circumstances. PIPEDA Case Summary #363 can be found here: http://www.privcom.gc.ca/cf-dc/2006/363_20061214_e.asp Summary by: Jason Young