Dot-xxx Domains Approved By ICANN

The board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the private sector, non-profit corporation created in 1998 to assume a number of Internet-related tasks including  managing the assignment of domain names and IP addresses, conditionally approved dot-xxx (.xxx), to be the top level domains (TLDs) for the adult entertainment industry late last month. The dot-xxx domains are among the recently-approved "sponsored" TLDs which had been created by interest groups including the aeronautical industry's dot-aero and the cooperative movement's dot-coop.

ICM Registry, the company that proposed the dot-xxx domain, says that it is a "completely independent entity with no affiliation, current or historic, with the adult entertainment industry." The claim of independence made an ICANN board member paused for a thought and questioned whether, in fact, there is a real sponsored community in the board-meeting debate before the vote. Dot-xxx domains won't start appearing right away. ICANN must first conduct a "due diligence" study of ICM's business plan for the domain, and then the board will review the contract proposed for the operation of the domain. That may involve referring the matter to ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee, which is next scheduled to meet in December in Colombia.

The conditional approval of the dot-xxx domains brought out varied reactions from people and organizations concerned with the control of the adult entertainment industry. Many believed that the current owners of adult sites would just purchase the dot-xxx domain but will still maintain them as dot-com sites. Searchers for dot-xxx domains will just be redirected to the original dot-com adult sites. When this happens, the objective of having adult entertainment under the dot-xxx domains for better control will be defeated. Blocking them for the protection of young children would be as difficult as it is now.