What is the legal basis for this? When someone builds a building or trademark's a name, their information is public domain. Why are domain's allowed to be privately registered and hidden from the public domain?
EDIT: for everyone reading, see also <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10113303" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10113303</a> for context of OPs question<p>The legal basis is that there are no stronger requirements as "there has to be somebody listed" made by the registry for the TLD, which is a (more-or-less, depending on the case) private entity and can set those rules, within the ICANN guidelines.<p>more theoretical: Why shouldn't it be allowed?<p>Building ownership or IP can also be done "privately" through companies. I bet many people owning domains are thankful that their personal information is NOT so easily accessible, and if there is a strong public need (legal case, prosecution) the intermediaries will hand out the information. Where required they'll also forward messages they are sent.<p>FWIW, here in Germany it is harder to do so and I don't like it, because it connects my website to myself a bit too easily, and I don't even publish particularly critical stuff.<p>What need do you have that is more important than the rights of the owner?
I don't understand the basis of your question. If it's not specifically required then it's legal.<p>Building permits and trademarks are required to be public. Other records are not required.<p>Consider corporate ownership. Some US states allows anonymous corporate ownership. (See <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2012/10/09/its-time-to-eliminate-anonymous-shell-companies/" rel="nofollow">http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2012/10/09/its-time-to...</a> complaining about such companies.) If it's okay to own a company without that information being public, then why not a domain?<p>Such companies are used as shell companies. If you want to trademark a name but not have others know that it's you, then start a Nevada LLC, owned by a Delaware LLC, owned by a company registered in the Cayman Islands, owned by you, and have the Nevada company take out the trademark.<p>Also, the term you want is 'hidden from the public' not 'hidden from the public domain.' "Public domain" applies to, for example, works that were under copyright but are no longer so.
Domains aren't generally "privately registered", but instead the WHOIS info is replaced with a forwarding service. Similar arrangements are fairly common with companies and trademarks.
my understanding is the private ones are actually assigning ownership to this private holding company. They show their info instead of yours. There is a small risk you could lose your domain if they decided to run with it.