Press Release: Irish registrar says New RAA is a step in the right direction

Following up on my blog post from earlier we just sent this out to the media:

Blacknight Announce New ICANN Registrar Accreditation Agreement
Irish registrar says New RAA is a step in the right direction.

April 23, 2013 – Carlow, Ireland – Leading Irish domain registrar Blacknight, announces positive changes to the New ICANN Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA).

Under the previous Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) some registrars were placed in awkward position as they straddled the line between obeying the data storage laws of the countries in which they operate and fulfilling their contractual obligations to ICANN. European registrars in particular could find themselves in violation of local data storage laws to meet the requirements set forth by ICANN. However, under the 2013 RAA EU registrars will be able to comply with both their contractual obligations to ICANN and also be able to respect local law.

Blacknight CEO Michele Neylon explains: “The new RAA docs are a significant improvement over previous ICANN contracts. From a European registrar (and registrant) perspective there are now very clear acknowledgements of both national / local law and the significant differences with respect to both data retention and data privacy obligations.”

Previously an EU registrar could not get a waiver from ICANN relieving them of certain aspects of the RAA that would place them in violation of local law unless they were already dealing with a data protection authority, investigation or complaint. However, under the new agreement, a registrar who may be in violation of their operating countries policies may write to ICANN to obtain a waiver from compliance with the RAA.

Blacknight intends to engage with ICANN in order to ensure that they are able to get any waivers needed to deliver a smooth customer experience.
Neylon continues: “The new RAA docs are a good step in the right direction toward ICANN actively addressing the needs of the global Internet community.”

The new RAA agreement requires retention of registrant information for a period of two additional years including: first and last name of registrant; first and last name of administrative, technical and billing contact; postal address of all contact persons listed; the telephone number of all contact persons listed; WHOIS information; types of services purchased with the domain registration; and recurring payment methods and data.

Blacknight additionally looks forward to other aspects of the new RAA should help to clarify both their obligations and those of their clients. For instance, a clear policy on WHOIS formatting should help reduce the customer service issues often encountered during transfer leading to an overall enhanced customer experience.

To learn more about the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA), please visit https://blacknight.blog/new-domain-registration-agreement-recognises-local-law-and-privacy.html

Please visit http://www.blacknight.com for more information on Blacknight’s suite of domain and hosting services.

About Blacknight:
Blacknight (http://www.blacknight.com/) are an Irish based, ICANN accredited domain registrar and hosting company. Recipients of several awards for their revolutionary use of social media, Blacknight are one of Europe’s most cutting edge Internet companies. Blacknight constantly seek to lead the way by introducing innovative solutions for its client base and provide dedicated servers and co-location as well as a comprehensive range of Microsoft Windows and Linux based hosting plans and domain name registration services to business globally.