[COLOR=red]This is part five of “What’s Wrong with Dot-xxx,” a five-part series outlining the Free Speech Coalition’s assessment of the proposed adult-entertainment-specific sponsored Top Level Domain.[/COLOR]
By Diane Duke
YNOT – You may have noticed a common theme throughout my articles about dot-xxx. I have to admit, I was a bit surprised by the reaction I received to my use of the word “bullshit.” I know it is out of character for me to be so, shall we say, blunt. Those who know me know I take professionalism very seriously; some might say to the point of being boring. Guilty as charged. But I had to get your attention. Dot-xxx is a serious threat to the adult entertainment community, and it is now crunch time, folks.
The past four articles in this series were designed to explain the threat of dot-xxx. I pointed out that registrar-hopeful ICM Registry is using “child protection” as a way to demonize our industry and convince the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers that the adult entertainment industry needs someone like Stuart Lawley and his company, ICM, to force the industry to be “responsible.” I showed you how Lawley and ICM lied to the industry and to ICANN about support from the adult entertainment industry. I explained to you how ICM is using the threat of damaging your existing brand and traffic to force you to “voluntarily” purchase dot-xxx versions of your dot-com domain names. I have revealed the farce of an industry-guided regulatory board (the International Foundation for Online Responsibility) that is supposedly separate from ICM, but in reality is not only selected, but also chaired by none other than ICM’s chief executive officer, Stuart Lawley, who would have veto power over every decision made by the IFFOR Policy Council and board of directors.
I also pointed out that ICM promised ICANN it would use IFFOR funds to protect children and consumers from our “irresponsible” industry, while at the same time promising the adult entertainment community those same funds would be invested in protecting our industry.
There are a few other points that are imperative for you to understand concerning dot-xxx. If you auto-redirect your existing dot-com to your new dot-xxx domain, your dot-com domain will be required to follow dot-xxx regulations. That means you must allow your site to be scanned and monitored for “illegal and offensive material,” automatically, by whatever entity ICM chooses. In addition, your dot-com domain will be scanned and monitored to make sure it is compliant with the best-practice regulations IFFOR (Or should I say ICM?) imposes. Also, if dot-xxx passes, there are governments that will block all domains in the space. Not only will this immediately de-value your dot-xxx domain, but it also will pose a threat to your click-through dot-com domain.
From a business perspective, purchasing dot-xxx domains is a bad investment and is potentially dangerous to your existing domains and traffic.
It is likely that ICANN will vote on dot-xxx during the March 18 board meeting in San Francisco. The Free Speech Coalition will have a strong presence there, but I will be honest: The cards are stacked against us. ICM reportedly has invested more than $12 million to push dot-xxx through the ICANN machine.
So what has $12 million bought ICM?
- Sponsorships of a number of conferences at which there were votes for dot-xxx.
- An independent review process that voted in favor of ICM on the issue of “sponsored” community (i.e. the adult entertainment community) even though no one from the adult entertainment community was questioned or interviewed during the process.
- An ICANN insider, Becky Burr, to represent ICM in all ICANN matters. Did I mention she was on ICANN’s accountability and transparency committee for a good portion of her time, representing ICM to ICANN?
- An ICANN board chairman adamantly in favor of pushing dot-xxx through.
- An ICANN board member, Sebastian Bachollet, hired to be on the IFFOR board. (Can you say conflict of interest?)
- A shortened public comment period at the San Francisco conference: two hours rather than the usual five hours, in an attempt to silence the adult community’s public voice.
- ICM’s ability to conceal the information it submitted as proof of sponsorship support, knowing full well the actual sponsorship community easily would refute the “proof” submitted.
- A vote by ICANN’s board to move forward with the process even though board members knew and stated publicly during the board meeting that what they were voting on was a lie.
ICANN will be in a position to make a great deal of money if dot-xxx is approved. But there is a voice of reason in this catastrophic mess called ICANN. ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee has, on three occasions, noted the lack of support from the sponsorship community, as well as a number of other problems with dot-xxx. The GAC has reached consensus opposition about dot-xxx, and ICANN is required, by its bylaws, to take GAC advice into account. Moreover, the U.S. government, the entity that authorizes ICANN to oversee the domain name system, has expressly cautioned ICANN about ignoring GAC advice, basically threatening to take away ICANN’s authority if the organization continues to overstep its boundaries by ignoring the public policy concerns of worldwide governments.
Adult industry professionals must take action now!
On March 17, ICANN will convene a public forum, albeit much abbreviated. FSC is organizing key leaders in the adult community to speak at the conference during the public comment period. We know they will limit the number of speakers inside the conference, but we can have a pronounced voice outside the building. In a time when rallies are changing the world around us we are calling all industry professionals to rally in San Francisco against dot-xxx.
When: Thursday, March 17, from 12:30 to 2 p.m.
Where: ICANN Conference, The Westin San Francisco-Union Square, 335 Powell Street, San Francisco.
What: Press conference and rally outside the conference.
Who: All adult industry professionals and supporters of the adult entertainment community.
If you can participate in the rally, contact Kim at Free Speech Coalition by calling 818-348-9373 or emailing. We will provide additional information to those who contact us.
It you cannot participate but still want to be heard, we will launch a Twitter campaign online. Make sure you are signed up and able to tweet by March 16; follow FSC on Twitter, and we will launch our campaign so the decision-makers are fully aware of where we stand on the issues.
In the long run, if dot-xxx passes, FSC is considering the following possibilities:
- Filing a dispute through ICANN’s Independent Review Process, although we are rightfully wary of all things ICANN.
- Filing a lawsuit, including a request for an immediate injunction against ICANN. We have a team of attorneys considering best possible arguments.
- Organizing a boycott of dot-xxx.
There are two ways to defeat dot-xxx: one with a bang, and the other with a trickle. Clearly, we would prefer to have dot-xxx defeated; over and done with. However, passage of dot-xxx does not necessarily mean the domain is viable or will be successful. ICM needs adult businesses to purchase dot-xxx domain names. ICM has reported over and over again that its business model relies on annual registration of between 300,000 and 500,000 dot-xxx domain names. After more than five years of actively marketing pre-registrations, ICM has just over 200,000 pre-reservations — and remember, that includes registries that have reserved a number of names in hopes of re-selling them to the adult industry.
It costs absolutely nothing to pre-reserve a domain name. Once money has to be paid, those numbers will decrease. Couple that with a boycott, and dot-xxx could fail before the end of its first year. Remember: More of these domain names have failed than succeeded, and without the support of the industry it is purported to serve, dot-xxx is history!
The time to act is now. Get involved! Let’s work together to send a clear message to ICANN and the world, once and for all, that we think dot-xxx is … bullshit!
Throughout March, ICANN’s board of directors plans to discuss some final issues with the internet regulatory body’s Governmental Advisory Committee before determining the next step in dot-xxx’s destiny. It is imperative that adult industry professionals understand the ramifications of this complex issue. In this five-part series, Free Speech Coalition Executive Director Diane Duke points out some of the adult industry trade association’s objections to dot-xxx and explains why the organization feels dot-xxx may be dangerous and detrimental to the adult entertainment industry.
