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Pressure Mounts On ICANN To Approve .xxx Domain

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the mounts-get-it-hah-hah dept.

An anonymous reader writes "An application for the.xxx domain was first submitted six years ago. ICANN approved the application in 2005, and entered into an agreement with ICM Registry regarding technical and commercial terms. However, ICANN reversed its decision in March 2007. An independent review panel was called to look into why ICANN had changed its mind, and concluded that the body had been under pressure from the US government. Now the registry that submitted that application, ICM Registry, is pushing for .xxx to be approved. The company has argued that the .xxx internet domain should be approved for porn site use, allowing parents and businesses to easily configure browsers or filters to automatically block sites that carry the domain."

3 of 372 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Yay ignorance. by Nuskrad · · Score: 4, Informative

    Can anyone tell me why someone wouldn't want the .xxx domain to happen? What possible downside is there to it?

    RFC 3675 covers it pretty well

  2. Re:Retarded bible belt morons by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 4, Informative

    The porn industry is saying

    ...nothing like what you think it's saying. Here's what the CEO of an Australian adult industry said in a letter to ICANN:

    The Eros Association is the peak national organisation for the Australian Adult industry. We represent the majority of the Australian adult retail and on line industry and have done so since 1992.

    I am writing to express our opposition to the introduction of the TLD XXX. I attended the ICANN meeting in Wellington in 2006 and met with ICANN and GAC delegates to explain our opposition to the proposal. At that time we submitted letters from major on line businesses that also opposed the introduction of the new TLD.

    Our objections have not changed. There is no support from the Australian on line adult industry for the TLD XXX. I note that the ICM website states that they have support form the adult industry and free speech advocates. I am yet to find anyone.

    While it's fun and easy to blame stupid, uptight Americans - and even gives you a smidgin of Slashdot karma - the reality is that the people who would hypothetically be using the .xxx TLD have no interest in it and are actively opposed to it.

    --
    Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
  3. Re:Yay ignorance. by eln · · Score: 4, Informative
    That's one hell of a slippery slope you're sliding down there. In any case, as far as who pressured ICANN to reject the domain and why, you're just flat-out wrong:

    After the second .xxx proposal was approved in 2005, the Family Research Council (FRC) mobilized its forces in an all-out crusade. Claiming that the creation of a .xxx TLD would allow pornographers to "expand their evil empires on the Internet," the FRC urged its supporters to express opposition to the proposal. The Department of Commerce alone received nearly 6,000 letters expressing concern on the subject. The Department of Commerce eventually requested that ICANN spend more time considering the implications of the proposal before reaching a conclusion.

    (source)

    While the porn industry also opposed it for other reasons, the ones that actually caused ICANN to reverse it were the Puritanical minority.