> This is how the system has worked for a long time, and the data has always been public. It doesn't get abused much, despite and including Cogent's recent spam to the emails that appear there.

It gets abused plenty (I get tonnes of spam to an email address that is published nowhere and is used for nothing except the RIPE whois db), and Cogent's spam is anything but recent. Cogent has been doing this for over a decade.

I expect spammers to be spammy. I expect reputable companies to behave in a reputable way.

Cogent sales people do their best to ensure that nobody confuses Cogent for a reputable company.