The magazine said that the EU, in particular, is taking issue with ICANN’s repeated delays of a final vote on .XXX and its announcement at a meeting last week in New Zealand that no timetable has been set for a decision.
In a statement, the ICANN board said it needs more time to analyze public comments and negotiate with the parties involved — even though the issue should have been settled more than seven months ago.
“Some members of the international community are incensed,” Business Week reporter Burt Helm writes. “They say the decision, which leaves the .XXX domain in bureaucratic limbo, is a sign the U.S. is letting domestic politics influence the day-to-day operation of the Internet.
Martin Selmayr, spokesperson for the EU’s Commission for Information Society and Media, tells Helm that the .XXX approval process, which has seen ICANN flout its normal practices several times at the request of the U.S. Commerce Dept., damages the U.S.’s credibility in the ongoing debate over Internet governance.
In short, he says, ICANN is not making decisions based on whether ICM Registry, the company behind the push for .XXX, has followed the necessary procedures, but on the moral leanings of politicos in Commerce who are unduly hindering what is supposed to be a nonpolitical, independent process.
”Meantime, international concerns over U.S. influence are likely to simmer,” Helm concludes. “EU representatives don't want U.S. domestic politics setting the agenda for what is ultimately a global Internet.”