Domain registrars are providing services that aid terrorism, claims Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail. A lengthy article published over the weekend, "Terror goes digital. With Canadian help," delves into the many different facets of the Internet that have been used by Islamic terrorist groups to communicate their messages to each other and to the rest of the world. But the "Canadian help" part of the equation comes by way of domain registrars Register.com and Tucows, which both operate out of Canada. The newspaper's assertions that these companies somehow aid terrorists with their services, however, are somewhat misguided.

The linchpin of The Globe and Mail's argument is that registrars are aiding terrorists by helping to keep them anonymous. As many of our readers know, people who register new domains now often have the option to do so without having their personal information displayed to the public through a WHOIS query. This service usually only costs a few extra dollars per year and has been applauded by privacy advocates as a way to keep a citizen's personal info private—no one needs to know who has registered those domains, they argue. But according to The Globe and Mail, the service has made it easier for terrorists to put their message out online without exposing their location or contact information.

But it's not as if the registrars themselves don't store the information. Both Register.com and Tucows require people who are registering domains to enter all of their personal information, regardless of whether they make use of the public anonymizing services or not. Register.com told us that the company provides private registration services so that its customers can avoid getting unwanted spam, mail, and telephone calls, but that there are a number of terms that users must agree to in order to use them. The company says that it takes reports of illegal activity on its servers seriously.

"Our policy clearly states that any site that does not comply with applicable laws, government rules or requirements, court orders or requests from law enforcement, is subject to immediate termination," Register.com's Wendy Kennedy told Ars. "In the event that Register.com is notified that a user of our Private Domain Registration is violating our policy, we follow a very specific process to respond. This process includes investigating the report and if applicable, disabling the domain and notifying the customer of the reason for this action. Register.com has, and will continue, to work with law enforcement to protect our domains for being used for any such activities."

As the "war on terror" moves onto the Internet, however, domain registrars will continue feeling pressure from both sides over the privacy services offered to their customers. And although Register.com appears to be making a reasonable effort to strike a balance thus far, shutting down web sites that are hosted on this side of the pond only represents small victories against those determined to spread word of their activities around the world.