Forum

I'm wondering what it takes for an attorney to get my information from a registrar if I have "Privacy Protection."

I think you just answered your own question.. "Domain Privacy....Privacy!"

If you're not partaking in illegal activities, what benefits are there to using domain privacy? I've never really bothered with it before, because I don't mind if people see my name in the whois information.
I've read through the Service Agreement, and one thing I do like the sound of though is that I still retain 'ownership' of the domain, unlike some other registrars offering privacy services. I would hate to have a good domain taken from me.

Dynadot_staff,

You posted a response to my last post a few hours after I posted, but now it's gone?  I didn't have time to reply the other day, so I was going to reply now to say great explanation.  I guess I can't say that now since your reply looks like it was deleted.

Thanks for the response.

Maybe it's because I'm not a lawyer, but I don't see the protection of the customer's rights that you mention.  The only mention of a court order or subponea is in section 8 number (v): "to comply with Dynadot policies, this Agreement, ICANN policies, subpoenas, court orders..."  The wording of a few of the listings in that same section is what confuses me: "...regardless of whether the claim is valid".  That to me says that anyone can make a baseless claim and Dynadot can say "ok here's the customer info".

Maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, and I'm not trying to be a pain, I'm just overly cautious by nature.

That being said, I'll trust that the explanation is honest and trustworthy, especially since there seem to be many people singing Dynadot's praises.  I registered a couple domains and chose the privacy service.

Thanks again for the feedback.

I checked with our attorney.

The Service Agreement protects Dynadot's rights. We reserve the right to release customer information for 6 specific situations in Part 2 Section 8 of the Service Agreement. By the way, these 6 situations are much more restrictive than most registrars.

The Privacy Policy protects the customer's rights.  In the privacy policy, we are agreeing that if we release information in these 6 situations, we will require a court ordered subpoena or a police search warrant. (Or unless otherwise compelled by law)

I have forwarded this thread to our company attorney. She should be able to provide some insight for you.

She will not be in the office until Wed, Dec 27.

I agree with the recent post, can we have some more definitive info please, will we also be notified by mail should you change the privacy policy in such a way. Paying for privacy policy means we are by all costs trying to establish privacy, this is rather important.

While your privacy service sounds the most appealing of any that I've found, reading through your Service Agreement seems to contradict your assertion that you "require a search warrant or a court subpoena to release customer account information."  In the url you posted above, it states "Because our service is technically a mail forwarding and filtering service, there is no need for us to reveal your true contact information unless compelled by a court order, administrative order, or government agency -- not just mere legal threats."  However according to your Service Agreement http://www.dynadot.com/registration_agreement.html "Additional Circumstances for Interruption of Services.  You hereby agree that Dynadot has the absolute right and power, in its sole discretion and without notice or liability to You whatsoever, to:  (a) reveal to third parties the contact information You provided to Dynadot during the domain name registration process; and, (b) suspend, terminate, or otherwise interrupt Your Domain Privacy service, as follows:", this wording basically sounds like what companies like Domains By Proxy have done in the past (give up customer info at the drop of a hat).  Can you provide a little more insight to this contradiction?

We require a search warrant or a court subpoena to release customer account information. Since our privacy service does not hide your name, we are able to provide much stronger protection than registrars that hide your name. For full details, please see this article:

http://www.dynadot.com/resource/article/qa.html?aid=0