Bloggers’ private details exposed online

New Zealand bloggers are “devastated” to find their home addresses and phone numbers are publicly available online.

Bloggers registered with a .nz domain name have found their personal information is listed publicly on the Domain Name Commission’s (DNC) WHOIS directory, which is searchable by the public.

The DNC requires registrants to provide their name, address and phone number so they can be contacted if there are any issues with their domain registration or technical problems.

The issue has been under review by the DNC for some time, and has prompted several people to communicate their concerns to the organisation.

One anonymous blogger said in their submission they were “devastated” to discover their home address online after purchasing a .nz domain.

“My husband and I discussed shutting down my blog immediately to keep our family safe,” said the blogger.

“I have spent months crying and unable to sleep wondering what I should do about my blog.”

According to the blogger they have managed to change the address after months of negotiating with their domain provider, but their address still appears under the history tab.

Other submissions spoke of similar fears saying it is a “violation” of their rights.

Kiwi beauty blogger Lena Duffin uses a .com domain for her site, Lena Talks Beauty, because she fears someone finding her home address if she had a .nz domain.

“I want to have a New Zealand domain name but . . . I don’t want any strange person to come to my house, that’s a terrifying thought.”

Miss Duffin said she might as well publish her home address on her blog if she changed to a .nz domain.

“When you write a book, your address isn’t on the back page.”

Miss Duffin said she often receives “creepy” messages from men on Facebook, and these people should not have access to her private information.

According to Miss Duffin, there are alternative ways to get in touch and find the email of a website owner. She said members of the public could contact someone through the host site, and having private details made public is unnecessary.

After receiving a number of submissions for their initial review, the DNC have now put forward a new proposal that would give registrants the option to request their information to be withheld from publication.

Miss Duffin believes the default setting should be private, rather than needing to apply to have the information removed.

“You shouldn’t have to jump through all these hoops to be able to hide your details.”

The office of the Privacy Commissioner was unable to comment at this time, but confirmed they are aware of the issue, and are in the process of collating a blog post with more information on the issue.

The DNC want to hear from more people about the issue and their new proposal.

“This is a conversation, we are very interested in people’s views on the process proposal.”

Submissions are open until June 7, and can be sent to policies@dnc.org.nz.