WSJ.com, 2/16/2001 # # Network Solutions Offers Its Database # Of Domain-Names to Marketing Firms # # By THOMAS E. WEBER # Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL # # The Internet's phone book is up for sale -- and though the # listings may represent a treasure trove for marketers, the move # also risks a serious privacy backlash. # # At issue are millions of entries in the domain-name database # operated by the Network Solutions unit of VeriSign Inc., Mountain # View, Calif. It is, essentially, the master address book for # the Internet. Since the dawn of commerce on the Web, companies # that want their own dot-com addresses have registered with Network # Solutions. # # Now Network Solutions is selling that information. "On your mark, # get set, go!" gushes a recent advertisement in a newsletter for # direct marketers. "Available for the first time ever. # Approximately 6 million unique customers, sliced and diced for # you to target prospects, learn about a specific audience or retain # customers ... Take this information and run with it." # # Exactly what's for sale may come as a surprise to many of the # individuals and businesses who have registered Web addresses. # In addition to names, street addresses, and other routine # information gathered when someone signs up for a domain name, # Network Solutions promises marketers information on whether sites # are dormant or up and running, whether they're set up for # e-commerce -- even whether a site has security precautions # installed. # # Network Solutions says that while the sales pitch is new, it # actually has been quietly selling such data for at least a year. # Now, the company says, it is moving more aggressively to cash # in on the information. "It's old wine in new bottles," says Doug # Wolford, general manager for Web presence at VeriSign. # # The move underscores the growing pressure on Internet companies # to find new sources of revenue. Now that the Net boom has slowed, # many dot-com companies view customer databases as a tempting # asset. # # But such strategies can be perilous given consumer concerns about # privacy online. Last year, online-ad concern DoubleClick Inc. # was forced to back off a plan to combine Web-tracking data with # offline databases after the move triggered a firestorm. And when # online retailer Toysmart.com shut down in May, a plan to sell # its customer database provoked a similar controversy. Walt Disney # Co., a Toysmart investor, offered to purchase and then destroy # the data after the Federal Trade Commission moved to block # Toysmart's plan. # # The Network Solutions database is a key part of the Internet's # infrastructure. Internet computers rely on numerical addresses # to route information around. When someone registers a domain # name, the information is used to tell computers all over the # Internet how to translate that dot-com address into the # appropriate numerical address. # # Registrants also must provide the name, telephone number and # e-mail address of a technical contact for their site -- # information that can prove vital for someone trying to trace # a hacker's attack or verify whether an online business is # legitimate. # # Under its agreement with the U.S. government to operate the # database, Network Solutions is required to provide public access # to the data. Anyone can visit the Network Solutions site and # look up information on Web addresses one by one. And indeed, # some marketers -- especially those sending unsolicited "spam" # e-mail -- have laboriously harvested information this way. # # But for marketing purposes, it's much more useful to have a # complete set of data outright. Network Solutions offers marketers # this option -- for a price and under its guidelines, which include # stripping out e-mail addresses and forbidding the use of the # information for e-mail marketing. # # Mr. Wolford says the data are typically used by companies that # want to send direct postal mail to Web businesses or simply want # to merge the data with existing lists to flesh out customer # dossiers. Network Solutions also allows its customers to opt # out of the list and takes steps to insure that only businesses, # not consumers, are included in the marketing efforts. # # While downplaying any privacy concerns, Network Solutions is # telling marketers that its data are a great way to sell things, # especially where small businesses are concerned. "Nobody offers # a better snapshot of this hard-to-reach group ... over 80% of # our customers are small businesses, representing every major # small business category you could hope to reach," proclaims an # information page at www.dotcom.com, the site Network Solutions # uses to promote its data business. # # And the fact remains that it's impossible to obtain a Web address # without registering for one -- either with Network Solutions # or with one of the other companies that popped up when the U.S. # government opened up what had been a Network Solutions monopoly # on dot-com domain names. # # Consumer advocates say any organized effort to use the data for # purposes other than the intended goal of obtaining an address # is troubling. "There's an increasing loss of faith in the ability # to have your information used only for reasonable, legitimate # purposes," says Lauren Weinstein, a privacy advocate who writes # an e-mail newsletter about cyberspace issues. Mr. Weinstein # alerted his readers to the Network Solutions effort in a bulletin # this week. # # Registering a domain name is a simple process that can be done # online in minutes. Network Solutions charges $35 a year for each # address, and asks for a contact name, phone number and e-mail # address that go into its database. # # So how does it know whether a site is up and running, or whether # it is engaged in e-commerce, or any of the other pieces of # information that it is promising to sell to marketers? Mr. Wolford # says the company sends software "robots" out onto the Web, using # much the same method that search engines use to catalog sites. # Those robots can look for key phrases such as "online ordering" # or "credit cards accepted" to determine whether a site has # e-commerce.