At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, the court permanently barred Zuccarini from diverting or obstructing consumers on the internet and from launching web sites or web pages that belong to unrelated third parties. The court also has barred him from participating in advertising affiliate programs on the internet, and has ordered him to pay almost $1.9 million.
In October 2001, the FTC charged that John Zuccarini was registering internet domain names that were misspellings of legitimate domain names or that incorporated transposed or inverted words or phrases – known as typosquatting. For example, Zuccarini registered 41 variations on the name of pop star Britney Spears. Surfers who looked for a site but misspelled its web address or were taken to his sites.
Users then were bombarded with a rapid series of windows displaying ads for goods and services ranging from internet gambling to porn. In some cases, the legitimate web site the consumer was attempting to access also was launched, so consumers thought the hailstorm of ads to which they were being exposed was from a legitimate web site.
Once consumers were taken to one of the defendant's sites, it was very difficult for them to exit. In a practice known as mousetrapping, special programming code at the sites obstructed surfers' ability to close their browser or to go back to the previous page. Clicks on the "close" or "back" buttons caused new windows to open. The FTC alleged that the practices were unfair and deceptive, in violation of federal law.
The court order permanently bars Zuccarini from: redirecting or obstructing consumers on the internet in connection with the advertising, promoting, offering for sale, selling, or providing any goods or services on the internet; and launching the web sites of others without their permission.