Is it possible that Google - being a domain registrar - allows them to see all the registration data for any domain, even when the domain has whois privacy enabled ? I'd like to know - not for linking reasons, but for owning several industry-related domains. If you've registered several similar 'XYZ Service in Springfield' domains, and have several corresponding sites - each with unique content and design - and with different hosting providers, would Google be able to see that the same registration information exists on these domains, even with whois privacy on the domains? Could this result in indexing penalties (since the supposed different sites/companies are registered to the same name). We know that Google wants different individuals/companies represented in SERPs, so what do you think?
No, registrars only have access to the data that "they" collect and Google has further stated that it should not really effect SERPS either. Nigel Edit: for a bit of discourse if need be... http://www.google.com/search?q=can+...s=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
Even though ICANN rules says that only registrars can see private whois data, but I think they can. Latest example for that can be that they check your who is info when you register for even Adsense account and sometime they ask for domain ownership proof by asking you to paste some code or add a page to confirm that. That indicates that they can see behind domain whois privacy, and besides, its not a big deal for such a giant company.