Domain authority denies .xxx domain again

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As part of the concluding business at its March meetings in Portugal, ICANN, the international authority over top-level domains, has once again rejected the proposal of domain mastery hopeful ICM Registry to create a sponsored .xxx zone. A resolution to reject ICM's application to establish and operate .xxx was passed by a 9-5 vote with one abstention. Had the resolution failed the domain would not have immediately been enacted, but in rejecting it, ICANN has closed the door on this particular application, requiring ICM or any other prospective sponsor to begin the process anew.

In advocating that its proposal be adopted and that it be given the .xxx franchise, ICM asserted that it received tens of thousands of preregistration requests, but a number of ICANN's board members seemed moved by arguments from the Free Speech Coalition, an adult industry trade organization, that its membership was strongly opposed to the domain. ICANN claims to strongly weight the opinion of the "sponsored community" attached to a domain proposal.

The transcript of the vote reads as high drama, with ICANN board members both in favor and opposed to the .xxx domain going on the record with impassioned and at times lengthy speeches backing their position. Some in favor of the domain implied that those opposed were bowing to political pressure, while those who moved against it plainly stated that they were acting independently.

In the end, concerns that .xxx would be employed or mandated by governments seeking to block or regulate pornographic content online seemed to win the day. Indeed, ICM president Stuart Lawley, when asked point-blank about the nature of porn on the Internet, responded that "[N]obody has come up with any great ideas about how to engage in responsible self-regulation on a global basis, not just a national basis, so users can make their own decision to select or avoid this content," an apparent admission that he saw .xxx as a tool to control when and where pornographic content would be displayed.

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