Re: Verizon Overrides Internet Searches With Its Own Results

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Nick Johnson" <arachnid () notdot net>
Date: November 3, 2007 10:37:45 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Cc: ip () v2 listbox com
Subject: Re: [IP] Verizon Overrides Internet Searches With Its Own  
Results

While this is a good article bringing attention to an important issue,  
there are a few things it misses out:

Using mistyped domain names to redirect users to search pages full of  
ads has been tried before, by Internet providers such as Cox and  
Earthlink.

Far more significantly,  VeriSign did it for the entirety of the .com  
and .net TLDS in September of '03. The outcry was such (not to mention  
the recriminations from ICANN) that it was shut down in short order.

In order to redirect the user to the search sites, the user's Domain  
Name Service (DNS) settings are altered, which can interfere with  
previously set network security and safe Internet browsing features.

No they aren't - nearly all subscribers have their DNS configured to  
use their ISP for resolution, all Verizon have to do is alter how  
their DNS servers behave to effect this result.

It also raises the question of whether or not an Internet provider  
that automatically redirects a user's searches without telling them  
will also shape the results they do get, such as filtering their  
searches to get specific results.

There's a huge disconnect between modifying DNS responses, which is  
fairly easy, and intercepting, interpreting and modifying responses  
for search results, which is a lot harder technically, and a lot  
harder to defend legally. Still, this is a troubling breach of Network  
Neutrality (and a good example of why Neutrality is a sound principle.


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