Although The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers has decided to squash the creation of a dot-XXX domain for adult website labeling, Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) on Wednesday told a Senate subcommittee hearing that he will continue in his efforts to create one.
The board of directors for ICANN, a nonprofit organization responsible for top-level domains and Internet protocol, in May voted against the proposed dot-XXX. Many conservative religious groups also rejected the measure: The Family Research Council has said it would create an online hub of “ill repute.” Tom McClusky, vice president of government affairs for the FRC, said a bill to create such a domain would pertain only to the U.S. and would be unenforceable elsewhere.
“We think [it has] good intentions but is a horrible idea,” McClusky told Arkansas’ Morning News. “One, it’s legitimizing pornography; but, additionally, there’s no way to enforce that pornography sites go to the dot-XXX domain. All we’re doing is creating a red light district.”
The Cyber Safety for Kids Act was introduced in March by the Pryor and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and would require the Commerce Department to develop the domain in cooperation with ICANN. The bill allows for civil penalties for pornographic sites not on the dot-XXX domain; however, many companies operate offshore and would be difficult to regulate.
That bill remains in committee.
More than a year ago, the Commerce Department asked the domain name group to delay approval of the dot-XXX domain because of widespread opposition.
