Why the White Pages of the Internet Matters to Public Health

In an article for The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, government and regulatory affairs Partner Libby Baney and Faegre Drinker Consulting Manager Jillian Brady and Director Sarah-Lloyd Stevenson discuss the importance of restoring the pharmacy community’s access to WHOIS data to protect public safety online.

The authors describe how WHOIS data shows who is responsible for a domain name. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, public health organizations, investigators, regulators, law enforcement and cybersecurity experts can use this data to monitor and identify sites imitating legitimate pharmacies and selling prescription drugs illegally online.

The authors state that without ready access to WHOIS data, the ability to protect consumers and patients online is substantially limited.