VeriSign refuses ICANN request to remove redirect service - News - Business

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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VeriSign refuses ICANN request to remove redirect service

By James Pearce, ZDNet Australia
September 23, 2003
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/business/soa/VeriSign-refuses-ICANN-request-to-remove-redirect-service/0,139023166,120278902,00.htm

VeriSign has refused a request from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to remove its controversial redirect service.

Responding to the ICANN request, VeriSign claimed that "users, important members of the Internet community we all serve, are benefiting from the improved Web navigation offered by Site Finder", and refused to end the service.

"As to your call for us to suspend the service, I would respectfully suggest that it would be premature to decide on any course of action until we first have had an opportunity to collect and review the available data," wrote Russell Lewis, executive vice president and general manager VeriSign Naming and Directory Services. "After completing an assessment of any operational impact of our wildcard implementation, we will take any appropriate steps necessary."

VeriSign, which enjoys a U.S. government-granted monopoly as the master database administrator for .com and .net, received criticism when it made changes to the top-level domain system that redirected incorrect URLs to its own pages.

Despite the outcry, VeriSign said it would keep the new service running, prompting ICANN to request VeriSign voluntarily suspend the service.

ICANN has posted VeriSign's response on its Web site. The letter claims VeriSign is willing to partner with ICANN and other industry experts to assess any operational impact of the implementation of their wildcard (redirect) system.