VeriSign investigated for dodgy marketing

NEWS The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched an investigation into VeriSign's marketing practises following allegations that it has been deceiving customers. Over the past few months the company which registers internet addresses has been swamped with lawsuits accusing it of using deceptive marketing to persuade customers to shift supplier of domain names. One of the key issues under the microscope is whether VeriSign illegally obtained the information on rival customers. VeriSign refused to comment claiming it had been asked by the FTC not to say anything about the request for information. This is not the first time VeriSign has been in trouble over its marketing practises. In June it was asked to stop posting "domain name expiration notices" to customers of rivals such as Go Daddy, BulkRegister.com and InterCosmos Media Group. A US District Court ordered the company to stop sending out the marketing material which led customers to believe their domain names were about to expire.