The FSC made that statement in a letter Thursday to the ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC).
“The GAC has an inherent understanding of the issues and hopefully will guide the ICANN board in the right direction,” FSC Executive Director Diane Duke said.
GAC has previously expressed its disapproval of the .XXX domain, said Duke, who noted that documentation confirming this was included in the packet sent by FSC.
Duke said the action comes after an ICANN decision to consult with GAC about key issues regarding the proposed .XXX domain prior to the ICANN board voting on the issue at their Dec 5 meeting, in Cartagena, Colombia.
The letter is accompanied by other documentation and outlines specific points that would present significant obstacles to the approval of a .XXX sTLD, Duke said.
She said the FSC opposes the proposed .XXX sTLD because it would cost adult online businesses millions every year in unnecessary fees and it make censorship efforts easier for anti-adult entities. She also noted that it is not supported by the adult online community.
In the letter, the FSC said that:
- ICANN’s lack of authority to oversee content-based regulation, and its inability to approve any other entity to oversee content-based regulation, in regards to establishing a domain category;
- Lack of support for the proposed .XXX sTLD from the “sponsor” community, which is necessary for approval;
- Use of fees from .XXX domain registrations to fund proposed regulatory board (IFFOR) in violation of free speech and free association rights;
- Inconsistencies in documentation provided by domain registrar ICM and its president Stuart Lawley in their ongoing campaign for approval of .XXX (The FSC pointed to Lawley’s statement at XBIZ Hollywood 2007 where he claimed that domain pre-registrations are not proof of support for .XXX; and,
- Lack of transparency by ICM during the approval process, overall.