Recently I needed some new domain names for a website I’m planning. Easy, right? Find one of those registration companies, search for the name you want, fill in the blanks, including the one that says you’ve read the “Terms and Conditions”, and plug in your credit card information.
Did you actually read those Terms and Conditions? Here’s section 20 (who gets to the 20th paragraph of legalese?) of the agreement I just signed.
I know this screen shot is a little hard to read so I’ll repeat what I underlined in green:
…that we own all…information…generated from the domain name database. You further agree and acknowledge that
we own…(c) the name, postal address, e-mail address, voice telephone number,…all contacts for the domain name registration…
I’m not a lawyer but a simple English interpretation of this set of phrases could be that I just transferred ownership of my name and address to that registrar. I wouldn’t want to have to prove that this isn’t what the agreement means. Could it be that the registrar now has the right to sell my name, address, e-mail, and phone number to the highest bidder?
Perhaps the final sentence in the section is meant to reassure me: “We do not have any ownership interest in your specific personal registration information outside of our rights in our domain name database.” But my stuff is in your domain name database and you just said you own it.
Maybe if I had the stamina to read and understand all the clauses in the Registration Agreement I’d not be worried. Maybe if I were a lawyer…maybe if Section 1. didn’t mention that I am also agreeing to a Supplemental Agreement that is linked to this page:
I conclude that we are in the “stone age of the digital age“. We have begun to invent digital tools that enable humans to accomplish much that was impossible without such implements. But we have just begun the invention process. The tools and the rules we are establishing for their use (e.g. Terms and Conditions agreements) are rough – coarse compared with what our descendants will have. For now, we are all suffering from the virtual cuts and bruises (and crimes) that result from the crudeness of today’s digital instruments.
I hope this registrar doesn’t sell my personal information. I hope my bank (the one that requires me to take responsibility for the security of my financial information and then urges me to use online banking and “go paperless”) doesn’t get hacked. I hope the camera and microphone on my “smart phone” are not constantly surveilling me even when I think I’ve turned them off. Life in any stone age is risky…
By the way, have you ever looked at the “indemnification clause” in one of those many agreements you sign, or noticed that most contracts require that you give up your right to a jury trial? Just for fun, read the back of your parking garage ticket and hope that the guy pulling up next to you isn’t carrying any stones.