YNOT – In an attempt to resolve lingering concerns about a new mechanism that quickly could add thousands of domain extensions to the World Wide Web, the board of directors for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers will meet with ICANN’s Government Advisory Committee Feb. 28 in Brussels. One outstanding consultation is missing from the agenda, so far at least: dot-xxx, the controversial proposed adult-specific sponsored Top Level Domain.
During a Jan. 25 meeting, ICANN’s board resolved “the consultation on [dot-xxx] as triggered in Cartagena [in December], shall take place no later than Thursday, 17 March 2011,” during the next ICANN general meeting, which will take place March 13-18 in San Francisco. The new drop-dead date for the consultation is significantly later than the vague February period the board indicated it preferred in a resolution passed during the Cartagena meeting. Observers have commented the delay most likely is due to GAC’s continuing resistance to dot-xxx.
The GAC is not the only entity apparently harboring objections to dot-xxx. Since 2004, adult industry trade association Free Speech Coalition has voiced extreme opposition to the proposed domain and, like ICANN’s board, would prefer the controversy be settled before San Francisco, albeit in a manner diametrically opposed to ICANN’s stated intent to approve dot-xxx. On Friday, FSC sent a letter (PDF) urging the ICANN board and the GAC to reject, once and for all, ICM Registry LLC’s application to establish dot-xxx.
FSC’s letter focuses primarily on the context of concerns raised by the GAC since an arbitration panel convened at ICM’s request last year overturned ICANN’s 2007 rejection of dot-xxx and strongly suggested ICANN reconsider the matter. According to FSC, the GAC repeatedly has challenged ICM’s ability to follow through with commitments outlined in the proposed registray agreement and related support documents.
“ICM claims that dot-xxx will help combat child pornography and protect vulnerable communities,” a late Friday statement from FSC noted. “ICM asserts that $10 of every $60 registration will go to combat child pornography. However, in its [Jan. 28] letter FSC documents where that very same $10 has been promised to help the adult industry [combat] everything from 2257 to piracy.”
Moreover, FSC’s letter quotes the founder of SafeKids.com — one of the oldest and most enduring websites for internet safety — stating, “As an internet safety advocate, my concern about dot-xxx is that it could give parents a false sense of security.”
Also in its letter, FSC points out ICM’s promises to protect intellectual property seem to extend more to mainstream companies than to the adult entertainment industry. ICM’s “Sunrise for .XXX” initial rights protection document offers domain-parking options to only non-adult companies. Adult entities may “block” domain names they own in other spaces but do not intend to use in dot-xxx for an as-yet-undisclosed fee that FSC worries may be onerous.
The letter also challenges ICM’s stated intent to “take appropriate measures to restrict access to illegal and offensive content,” pointing out that what is considered “legal and offensive” varies dramatically from country to country.
Finally, FSC addresses the issue of “sponsorship community,” contending the adult industry and ICANN were deceived by the use of “pre-reservations” as a sign of industry support. Instead of support for dot-xxx, FSC has stated, domain pre-registrations actually embodied a defensive maneuver on the part of companies and individuals concerned about the fate of their dot-com intellectual property should dot-xxx become reality.
“This is an extremely comprehensive and powerful document,” FSC Executive Director Diane Duke said. “FSC thanks [attorney and FSC Chairman] Jeffrey Douglas, [AVN Senior Editor] Tom Hymes and especially [attorney] Reed Lee, who worked long hours ensuring not only that all topics were covered, but also that they were meticulously referenced.”
