Developments of Note

Less than a month after introducing its new “Site Finder” service to the “.com” and “.net” directories, VeriSign Inc. on Oct. 4 voluntarily stopped the service, bowing to pressure from The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and lawsuits from competitors. Site Finder directs Internet users who misspell or mistype Internet addresses to a VeriSign-operated Web site that contains navigational assistance for the user, search functions and advertising links. It operates similarly to several existing redirect services, however VeriSign's competitors claim Site Finder misuses VeriSign's authority in resolving domain names ' essentially “hijacking” Internet traffic for its own commercial gain and pre-empting the other services. For example, Popular Enterprises filed a $100 million antitrust suit against VeriSign, claiming that Site Finder disrupted the core functionality of its “SmartBrowse” toolbar and resulted in lost revenues. In a letter to VeriSign on Oct. 3, ICANN issued a formal request that VeriSign suspend the service. The letter stated: “Failure to comply with this demand by that time will leave ICANN with no choice but to seek promptly to enforce VeriSigns contractual obligations.”

On Sept. 3, federal authorities arrested notorious cybersquatter John Zuccarini on charges that he violated the Truth in Domain Names Act. The Truth in Domain Names Act was recently enacted as part of larger legislation, the Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to End the Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003 (PROTECT Act), that also created the national “AMBER Alert” system. The Truth in Domain Names Act makes criminal the use of a misleading domain name to attract a minor into viewing sexually explicit material on the Internet. Zuccarini's arrest is the first under the new law. Zuccarini is accused of creating thousands of misleading domain names, such as “www.dinseyland.com,” that attracted children to pornographic sites and often “mousetrapped” them on those sites.

British lawmakers introduced new measures that criminalize the sending of unsolicited commercial e-mail and mobile text messages without prior “opt-in” consent from the recipient. The British law, which takes effect on Dec. 11, subjects violators to penalties of up to $8000 from a magistrate, or more if there is a jury trial. There is an exception when the sender and recipient have a prior business relationship, and the law excludes business e-mail addresses from coverage. Britain issued the new rules to comply with a European Union directive requiring member states to act against spam by Oct. 31, 2003, and joins Italy as the second European nation to make spamming a criminal offense.

VeriSign Drops New 'Site Finder' Service

Less than a month after introducing its new “Site Finder” service to the “.com” and “.net” directories, VeriSign Inc. on Oct. 4 voluntarily stopped the service, bowing to pressure from The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and lawsuits from competitors. Site Finder directs Internet users who misspell or mistype Internet addresses to a VeriSign-operated Web site that contains navigational assistance for the user, search functions and advertising links. It operates similarly to several existing redirect services, however VeriSign's competitors claim Site Finder misuses VeriSign's authority in resolving domain names ' essentially “hijacking” Internet traffic for its own commercial gain and pre-empting the other services. For example, Popular Enterprises filed a $100 million antitrust suit against VeriSign, claiming that Site Finder disrupted the core functionality of its “SmartBrowse” toolbar and resulted in lost revenues. In a letter to VeriSign on Oct. 3, ICANN issued a formal request that VeriSign suspend the service. The letter stated: “Failure to comply with this demand by that time will leave ICANN with no choice but to seek promptly to enforce VeriSigns contractual obligations.”

On Sept. 3, federal authorities arrested notorious cybersquatter John Zuccarini on charges that he violated the Truth in Domain Names Act. The Truth in Domain Names Act was recently enacted as part of larger legislation, the Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to End the Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003 (PROTECT Act), that also created the national “AMBER Alert” system. The Truth in Domain Names Act makes criminal the use of a misleading domain name to attract a minor into viewing sexually explicit material on the Internet. Zuccarini's arrest is the first under the new law. Zuccarini is accused of creating thousands of misleading domain names, such as “www.dinseyland.com,” that attracted children to pornographic sites and often “mousetrapped” them on those sites.

British lawmakers introduced new measures that criminalize the sending of unsolicited commercial e-mail and mobile text messages without prior “opt-in” consent from the recipient. The British law, which takes effect on Dec. 11, subjects violators to penalties of up to $8000 from a magistrate, or more if there is a jury trial. There is an exception when the sender and recipient have a prior business relationship, and the law excludes business e-mail addresses from coverage. Britain issued the new rules to comply with a European Union directive requiring member states to act against spam by Oct. 31, 2003, and joins Italy as the second European nation to make spamming a criminal offense.