by Playfuls Staff |
13th May 2006
After the .XXX domain was one step away from becoming reality last year, this week ICANN buried the hopes of those at ICM Registry, clearly rejecting their project with a final score of 9 cons against 5 pros. [more]
The .XXX domain has always created a lot of controversy since the beginning and, aside from ICM Registry, nobody seemed to actually be delighted by the idea. Moreover, even the conservative groups - which had threatened with boycotting the initiative ever since last year - were on the same side, even if from different reasons. The message was a very clear one: nobody wanted a .XXX domain.
The conservative groups consider that such domains will only create a new distribution channel for pornographic content; thus, introducing them goes against their morale principles. On the other side, the .XXX domains didn't get too much support mainly because the representatives of the adult industry weren't too enthusiastic about the idea either. In their opinion, the attempt to gather the the virtual pornography in some sort of a Red Light District will only open a way to easier censorship means.
In this storm of arguments, ICANN's rejection of the .XXX domain came somehow as a logical conclusion, an ending which could have been anticipated the moment when the Internet governing authority delayed several times the voting for the new domain.
The only ones who are dissatisfied in this complex equation are the representatives of the European Commission. But it's not the rejection itself which displeases them, but the fact that the decision may have been a politically influenced one. The commentaries of the European officials are only part of an older conflict, mainly concerning their disagreement with the fact that, after all, ICANN is actually an American authority.
Whether it was influenced by political issues or not, the decision to suspend the debates related to the .XXX domain is highly unlikely to change in the near future. So, for the time being, ICM Registry's initiative has every chance of becoming history.
