Collaborative Engineering Solutions for DNS Registration Data Governance

DNS Registration Data underpins the security, stability, and accountability of the global Internet. Yet today’s ecosystem faces a structural challenge: legacy open-access WHOIS models must now coexist with modern privacy frameworks such as GDPR and emerging national data protection laws. The result is fragmentation, operational friction, and regulatory uncertainty.

Project Jake, an initiative of the Edgemoor Research Institute (ERI), brings stakeholders together to develop voluntary, privacy-respecting engineering solutions for DNS Registration Data collection and disclosure.

Since 2020, under the leadership of Stephen D. Crocker, Project Jake has convened registries, registrars, policy experts, and technical leaders to collaboratively design workable, accountable frameworks for modern domain data governance.

The JADDAR Platform

At the center of Project Jake’s current work is JADDAR (Jake Domain Data Requestor)—an engineering framework that enables secure, policy-aligned access to non-public DNS Registration Data.

JADDAR:

• Supports modern identification, authentication, and authorization mechanisms
• Operates under local policy control by registries, registrars, and governing authorities
• Enhances clarity, auditability, and accountability
• Preserves privacy while enabling legitimate data requests

The objective is practical: reduce fragmentation while respecting evolving legal obligations and jurisdictional requirements.

Your participation matters as the operational insight and policy experience of all stakeholders are vital to ensuring that next-generation domain data frameworks are technically sound, balanced, and deployable at scale.

Participation also supports Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by contributing to measurable improvements in digital trust, security, and accountability.

Pilot Demonstration at ICANN85

The Project Jake pilot will be operational at ICANN 85 in Mumbai, in collaboration with the Taiwan Network Information Center (operator of the .tw top-level domain).

Initial users will include representatives from the law enforcement and intellectual property communities.

You are invited to attend a one-to-one or small group demonstration and discussion session during the meeting.

To arrange a session in Mumbai—or to schedule an online demonstration—please contact: [email protected]

Learn More

Additional information about Project Jake and the JADDAR platform is available through the Edgemoor Research Institute website:
https://www.edgemoorresearch.org

All Stakeholders are encouraged to engage early and help shape a privacy-respecting, operationally viable future for DNS Registration Data governance.