AUSTIN, TX – Brandon Shalton seems an unlikely defender of pornography. Yet, in spite of being a red state technology provider and consultant, he has long been an advocate for two things: child protection and the online adult industry’s responsible professional development. Recently, he added FightTheDotXXX.com to his online advocacy, in addition to providing his services to ASACP, and having previously protested Acacia’s patent grab with FightThePatent.com.According to Shalton, there are a lot of reasons to resist the proposed sponsored Top Level Domain (sTLD). “.XXX has been pitched to protect children, and to me that is quite an insult to the work of ASACP and people like me who have been trying to do something proactive that protects children,” he explained. “And, secondly, it’s not the answer. It’s clearly something much more money driven than goal driven.”
During his conversations with members of the online adult industry, Shalton has met many individuals who personally oppose the proposed domain — but refuse to speak out against it for fear of suffering financially if ICANN releases it to the public. Ultimately, Shalton believes that both those who oppose as well as those who support the .XXX domain should be willing to have their opinions known. Ironically, few on either side have stepped up to the plate to do so.
It is his hope that his information packed site will increase awareness of the likelihood of negative results should the new domain become a reality. Toward that end, the site is packed full of details about .XXX, its history, application process, opinions in support and opposition – and a growing list of individuals and companies willing to go on record as being opposed to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ (ICANN) proposal.
Big guns and small are signing up to speak out against what Shalton believes is essentially “imposed regulation” via the .XXX domain. Currently, high profile industry voices for self-regulation and responsible business practices listed on the site include the Free Speech Coalition, YNOT, LightSpeed, Yanks, Adam & Eve, Homegrown Video, and Kick Ass Pictures, with new names being added daily to the ranks going on record as opposed to the domain. Shalton encourages any individual or company that shares his concerns to get on board before September 15, the possible date set for ICANN to decide whether or not to move forward with the domain.
Shalton considers himself to be a “watchdog” of sorts, bringing issues of concern to the attention of the adult online community and providing them with an opportunity to raise their voice in opposition, especially webmasters – many of whom often remain politically inactive and silent. Regardless of his high hopes, Shalton is realistic about his site’s affect upon the political process, particularly given opposition to the domain release by porn-hostile groups. “I don’t have any ego to this or believe that this is going to topple things over,” he assured. “I think that the religious and the conservative groups have done an excellent job in their letter writing campaigns and the pressure from the Bush administration to defer the .XXX decision until September 15.”
