Support for Law Enforcement Access to Publicly Available and Accurate Internet Address Registration Data to include privacy protected registrant information and related Forensic Resources to facilitate investigation of Cybercrime and Cyber Enabled Crime

Submitted by: Communications and Technology Committee

CTC.06.t16

Passed: November 2016

WHEREAS, this is an updated version of an expired 2005 adopted resolution then submitted by the Communications and Technology Committee as CT23.a05 and adopted at the 112^th Annual Conference; and

WHEREAS, the lawful investigation of Internet communications is one of the most valuable tools available to law enforcement in identifying both the perpetrators and victims of crime; and

WHEREAS, the Internet is global in nature, and as such, poses challenges when conducting multiagency international investigations, including delays imposed when obtaining international legal process; and

WHEREAS, electronic or digital evidence associated with the Internet is fleeting in nature, and law enforcement officials must obtain timely access to this information to fulfill law enforcement duties; and

WHEREAS, criminals use the anonymity and international nature of the Internet, and the fleeting nature of electronic or digital evidence, to thwart law enforcement investigations; and

WHEREAS, publicly available databases containing information involving the allocation of Internet resources and who they are assigned to, such as Internet Protocol address space and domain names, are a critical tool used by law enforcement, and because these databases are public in nature, allow law enforcement agencies access to conduct investigations in the most timely manner possible; and

WHERAS, allocation of Internet resources is expanding rapidly due to impending exhaustion of Internet Protocol Version 4 address space and the subsequent and simultaneous implementation of Internet Protocol Version 6 as well as the implementation of numerous new top level domains by the Internet Corporation for the Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), accurate and easily accessible registrant information is now even more important to law enforcement than in 2005 when the original resolution was adopted; and

WHEREAS, ICANN and its International members involved in the creation of policy consensus and administration of this information currently are considering new registrant data policy which may seek to restrict or eliminate fluid public access due to business, privacy, or data-mining concerns; and

WHEREAS, the elimination or restriction of easy fluid access to this information would severely cripple or eliminate the ability of law enforcement agencies to conduct investigation in a timely manner; now therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) strongly urges the related Internet administration communities, including governments, regional Internet registries, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, Internet Service Providers, domain-name registries, domain-name registrars, and Internet service providers to assist law enforcement by providing continued access to publicly available databases concerning the allocation of Internet resources, and in situations where the maintenance of these databases may conflict with privacy regulation, business concerns, or data-mining prevention efforts, fully consult with the International law enforcement to assist in the resolution of these potential conflicts before removing or restricting law enforcement access to this critical information; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the IACP membership coordinate the above efforts to achieve the goal of providing consistent, equal, and uniform access to the above-referenced resources for all of the international law enforcement community.