Internet regulator rejects .xxx domain for adult sites (AFP)

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Internet's regulatory body has rejected a plan for a new ".xxx" domain that would create a red-light district in cyberspace after heated protests from the United States and elsewhere.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers () board voted 9-5 against the plan after "much public comment and detailed discussion," according to a statement issued late Wednesday.

The announcement marks a reversal from a year ago, when ICANN opened technical discussions for the new top-level domain with the .xxx extension, for what was billed as a self-regulated adult-themed area of cyberspace.

The plan, which backers said would protect children from online pornography by creating an identifiable area of cyberspace, sparked an intense debate at an organization normally involved in arcane technical aspects of the Internet.

ICANN officials had acknowledged that several governments and organizations around the world had expressed "a strong sense of discomfort" about the .xxx domain.

Under the plan, the domain would be administered by a US company called ICM Registry, with support from the Canadian-based International Foundation for Online Responsibility, which set guidelines for the zone.

Many in the adult entertainment industry opposed the plan, calling it a step toward banning online sexual content.

Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler magazine, wrote in comments to ICANN that the plan is "an inherently dangerous idea with no real purpose. Only if it becomes a tool of censorship will it achieve its goal of preventing access to adult content by minors, and if it falls short of that goal, what reason for it was there for it in the first place?"

"This will create an electronic ghetto easily targeted by lawmakers who want to put adult websites out of business and attempt to do this by enacting laws to make business difficult," said a comment filed with ICANN by someone identified only as "Romeo."

"If the move to .xxx is proposed to be voluntary, then how can it possibly succeed in what is purported to be its main goal -- protecting kids from inappropriate materials?," wrote Chase Reyes of the website ChasingBooty.com.

"One could choose to participate in the segregation, or not, and those that choose not to will have an advantage that leads me to believe very few will volunteer for the move to .xxx."

Among those supporting the plan was an individual identified as John K, who wrote, "I find the .xxx concept to be socially responsible and helpful to all but illegal child pornographers."

ICM Registry had no immediate comment. Last year, the group stated that it would manage the domain "specifically for adult oriented websites willing to adhere to a set of industry best practices."

This, ICM contended, would "help protect children from exposure to online pornography and also have a positive impact on online adult entertainment through voluntary efforts of the industry."

The United States last year asked ICANN to postpone the new top-level domain, citing an "unprecedented" level of protests, including some 6,000 letters and e-mails.

The private, nonprofit ICANN was created by the US government to oversee the addresses used to access the Internet and websites, in lieu of any governmental body taking on that role. One of its main functions is to settle domain name disputes.

The US government has resisted efforts to create body to oversee the Internet in lieu of ICANN, which operates under a contract with the US Department of Commerce with a board from several countries.

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