JUPITER, Fla. — Stuart Lawley, known in the adult industry for leading ICM Registry, has passed away, according to a close friend and associate.
Greg Dumas, who worked closely with Lawley in developing ICM Registry in the 2000s, shared that Lawley died from a massive heart attack in Jupiter, Florida, on Nov. 26.
Born in the U.K. in 1963, Lawley studied mechanical engineering at London University’s Imperial College, graduating in 1985. He built the fax machine company Eurofax Ltd. during the 1980s and 1990s and started Oneview to capitalize on the commercialization of the internet.
While heading up ICM Registry in the 2000s and 2010s, Lawley was at the center of much controversy for spearheading the adoption of the .xxx sponsored top-level domain (sTLD). At the time, he argued that the new domain would help protect children from adult content while also enabling “responsible adult-entertainment website operators to self-organize and self-regulate on a voluntary basis.”
Lawley contended that .xxx would provide a voluntary warning label that people would recognize and be able to easily filter out.
This led to a heated debate over whether the adult-oriented suffix would constitute a positive or a negative for the industry. Some members of the adult community saw it as a necessary political compromise, while others were concerned that it could lead to a mandatory TLD for adult content. Free Speech Coalition opposed .xxx, arguing that it could set the stage for further censorship and discrimination against adult companies.
Of his interest in the online adult industry, Lawley would later tell Bloomberg Businessweek, “When I got into the research in 2003, I was stunned by the money to be made in the adult space. Billions were being spent, probably more than ticket sales for all [U.S.] movies and sporting events combined. This had gone way beyond porn-spam e-mail and pop-up ads for penis enlargement.”
When the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) initially rejected ICM Registry’s proposal in March 2007, Lawley blamed the rejection on political pressure from the Commerce Department and vowed to fight on.
Lawley told XBIZ at the time, “There has been a lot of misinformation and in some cases disinformation surrounding this application. We have always tried to put forward the voluntary nature of .xxx and the benefits to the industry of being seen to attempt to self-regulate in conjunction with the other impacted stakeholders.”
In 2010, when arbitrators ruled that ICANN violated its own charter when it rejected .xxx, Lawley again moved the initiative forward. By that time, ICM Registry had reportedly spent millions of dollars to advance the proposal.
When ICANN finally approved the .xxx TLD in 2011, Lawley called it “a landmark moment for the Internet” and contended that the International Foundation for Online Responsibility (IFFOR), the nonprofit organization tasked with policymaking for the .xxx TLD, had “the potential to become one of the Internet industry’s greatest forces for good.” Lawley initially chaired IFFOR but stepped down “to ensure separation from ICM Registry.”
In November 2011, adult company Manwin filed an antitrust suit against ICM Registry, which was eventually settled.
By May 2012, ICM Registry reported 218,000 .xxx domains under its management, though many of those were “defensive” purchases. In June of that year, Lawley was profiled in Bloomberg Businessweek in a piece titled “The New Republic of Porn,” featuring the tag, “An ex-fax machine dealer from Britain has a plan to make the Internet safe for another golden age of smut.”
By 2014, .xxx seemed to be thriving. Lawley attributed that success to greater SEO performance, rising relevance on Alexa, and brisk domain renewal rates.
ICM went on to launch and operate the generic TLDs .adult, .porn, and .sex.
In May 2018, TLD registry service provider Minds and Machines acquired ICM Registry in a $41 million cash-and-stock deal.
“Having successfully built and sold several technology businesses throughout my career in other consolidating markets, it became clear over the last few years that ICM’s business, shareholders, and employees would be best served as part of a larger group with the corresponding resources, vision, opportunities, and obvious cost savings that would bring,” Lawley said at the time.
Lawley left to pursue blockchain-based age verification opportunities with his new venture, AVSecure.com.
According to Dumas, Stuart transitioned to semiretirement after his son, Sabian, was killed in a hit-and-run accident in 2022, though he remained actively engaged in business endeavors and community service. He enjoyed volunteering at local dog shelters and was passionate about restoring classic cars. He frequently raced his Porsche GT3RS at various tracks.
Dumas hailed him as “an exceptionally intelligent and astute businessman,” adding, “Stuart’s legacy is one of resilience, innovation, and an unwavering passion for life. His impact on those who knew him and the industries he touched will not be forgotten.”
Longtime friend and associate Stephen Winyard also paid tribute to Lawley, calling him “a man with a supreme level of intellect and business acumen.”
“For me personally, losing him is a void that cannot be filled,” said Winyard. “Stuart was my best friend for 38 years and a business partner, soulmate, confidant, and pal. He was a lousy golfer but would relish a 36-hole round for shits and giggles any day. He was always the smartest guy in the room and the go-to ‘phone a friend’ for any matter, especially if it was complex. He had a sixth sense for seeing things both in life and in business, and he will always be admired for taking on some very challenging and tricky choices with gusto, choices that more often than not turned out to be highly effective.”
Like Dumas, Winyard cited the loss of Lawley’s son, Sabian, as a sad and difficult turning point in Lawley’s life.
“Stuart died from a broken heart,” Winyard said. “He had illness already, and having to deal with the loss of his only child was simply too much for him or his body to cope with. Stuart was wealthy, but he always said others were richer, as they still had their families. We all knew it was a daily battle.
“In my life, I have never known anyone like Stuart and never will,” Winyard added. “He was unique, and that makes the loss even harder. May he forever rest in peace.”
Lawley is survived by his mother and sister.
