Nominet in the UK have a far more enlightened approach - as long as you register as an individual, you can opt to have your info hidden at no extra cost. WHOIS

Nominet in the UK have a far more enlightened approach - as long as you register as an individual, you can opt to have your info hidden at no extra cost. WHOIS just displays your name and the various technical details such as nameservers; all other details are replaced with a message to the effect that "this registrant is an individual who has opted out of the WHOIS database". Saves having to use all these pricey WHOIS privacy services. Businesses are still required to put address details up, but you don't have millions of people being obliged to shove their home addresses and phone numbers online. (I voted "using a privacy service", although that service is simply the Nominet opt-out.)