WASHINGTON — The International Foundation for Online Responsibility (IFFOR), the nonprofit organization tasked with policy making for the new .XXX TLD today announced the founding members of its board of directors and policy council.
The members include leading global figures in Internet security, online child protection and freedom of expression, including Professor Nadine Strossen and Sharon Girling OBE.
The chair of the IFFOR Board will be Stuart Lawley, the current chairman and CEO of ICM Registry. Joining Lawley as board directors will be Clyde Beattie, CEO of Yorkland Investment Corp and Sebastien Bachollet, CEO of BBS Consulting and a member of the Board of Directors of ICANN.
Beattie’s experience includes serving as chairman of the Canadian Internet registry Authority (CIRA), where he was responsible for the .ca top level domain, as well as serving as a director of the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP).
Bachollet’s expertise also stems from a technological background, having launched the sncf.fr website and built CIGREF (Club Informatique des Grandes Entreprises Françaises). The board is assisted by Joan Irvine as executive director.
“IFFOR has the potential to become one of the Internet industry’s greatest forces for good,” said Stuart Lawley, CEO of ICM Registry and chairman of IFFOR.
“The caliber of our founding members, international leaders in their fields from child protection to privacy, to freedom of expression is testament to the organization’s vision and ambition. We are extremely honored by their commitment to IFFOR’s mission and we all look forward to collaborating with our industry and other partners as IFFOR begins its important work.”
The policy council will be responsible for initiating a series of policies for responsible business practices and conduct within the .XXX online adult entertainment community. This includes making adult content less accessible to children online and protecting the privacy and security of consenting adult consumers of online adult goods and services.
IFFOR is an independent nonprofit body, which has been created by ICM Registry, the organization responsible for the new .XXX TLD, which opens to trademark owners under a sunrise launch period in September. IFFOR will receive significant funding from ICM at a rate of $10 per domain registration per year.
“Wearing both of my hats, as a scholar and activist, I have long championed the freedom of consenting adults to make their own choices about what sexual expression to access online as well as the rights of parents and guardians to make such choices regarding their own children,” said Strossen, the Free Expression Policy Council member for IFFOR.
“It is an honor and an important responsibility to serve as the inaugural member of IFFOR’s Policy Council who is designated as the advocate of these fundamental freedoms.”
The IFFOR Board is also supported by its Policy Council and the initial non-adult industry members are: Child protection authority Sharon Girling OBE who has more than 30 years’ experience in policing and addressing international Internet enabled pedophilia, advising both the British Prime Minister and the President of the United States.
Fred Cate is a Professor of Law at the Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington and director of the Indiana University Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research. He specializes in privacy, security and other legal issues, appearing regularly before Congress, government agencies and professional and industry groups on these matters.
Bob Corn-Revere, partner at Davis Wright Tremaine, is a 1st Amendment attorney.
The fourth member of the IFFOR Policy Council, Strossen, served as president of the American Civil Liberties Union for 17 years.
The remaining five policy council members selected to represent the online adult entertainment industry on an international basis will be announced later this summer.