On Wednesday, ICANN announced that it had entered into technical and commercial negotiations with ICM Registry regarding the adoption of .XXX.
ICM Registry first submitted an application to act as the official registry for the adult suffix in 2000, aiming to create an identifiable area of the web for “responsible adult-entertainment website operators to self-organize and self-regulate on a voluntary basis.”
Proponents of .XXX argue that not only will the designation be proof of voluntary self-policing by the industry, but that portions of domain proceeds will benefit the fight against child pornography. However, some members of the adult community disagree with escalating degrees of concern over being singled out by the federal government and forced to migrate into a designated adults-only area of the Internet.
"Webmasters' concerns stem from the fear of a mandatory TLD," Alec Helmy, publisher of XBiz World and XBiz.com, said. "I, nor anyone else, like the idea of a mandatory TLD, which would allow ISPs to switch the adult Internet on and off at will. Webmasters are already faced with the new 2257 compliance requirements and are understandably jittery during these challenging times."
Free Speech Coalition Executive Director Michelle Freridge told XBiz she thinks the .XXX domain would do irreparable harm to free speech rights, and while there are some positive aspects to the proposed suffix, its adoption would have too many negative effects.
"The FSC is opposed to the .XXX domain and feels that it could be used to very effectively censor sexually explicit, legally protected free speech," Freridge said. "And while there may be some advantages, the way in which it could be used against free speech far outweighs all the other advantages."
Jack Mardack of profitLABINC.com told XBiz he could easily see some benefits to the adoption of the new domain.
"What I see as potentially positive in .XXX is that it provides an opportunity to leverage voluntary business practice standards in exchange for concessions we would not otherwise get," Mardack said. "Ours is essentially a political battle, and the essence of politics is compromise."
But despite webmaster concerns that regulators or credit card processors might step in after a number of years to actually impose mandatory requirements for .XXX registration, Jason Hendeles of ICM Registry responded by saying that there should not be any concerns over such a scenario.
"The definition of what type of content and which websites would be .XXX and which would not is the basis for why the adult industry exists," Hendeles told XBiz. "Community standards would never enable a regulator to impose criteria. In addition, how could that possibly apply to companies outside the U.S.? The truth is, the opposite scenario is more likely. Credit card companies are more likely to offer legal transaction services to companies that are acting within the law ... or at least perceived to be acting responsibly."
Maxxx Beaver, a Canadian webmaster, feels differently. “I think it would be the death of the industry,” he said, remarking, as have many people on various webmaster bulletin boards, that the extension will “ghettoize” the industry and position it for eradication should political administrations step in to further regulate the business.
"This is a voluntary domain, so is .com, .info, and .jobs," Hendeles said. "You can't force webmasters to do things on the Internet, but you can collectively make a difference in the way the community is perceived by the rest of the Internet world."
According to ICANN, the details surrounding the adoption of .XXX are in the final stages and domains could be available by the end of the year. ICM Registry Chairman Stuart Lawley has said previously that the .XXX suffixes would cost around $75 and carry no restrictions other than to represent websites that feature sexually explicit content.
"Any measure that fosters an increase in the separateness between adult and the rest of the online universe should raise a flag," Mardack said. "That being said, U.S. business history contains a few notable examples of when voluntary compliance 'self-policing' has had a positive effect on the industry in question – gambling and alcohol, to name just two. I’m not advocating that the adult industry embrace .XXX as a good idea. But, in the course of our long and arduous battle for legality, we will face many more oppressive legislative and regulatory 'strokes,' and will, in response, undergo many more reiterations of our basic business models."