It looks as if the board of ICANN has quickly brought the revival of the .xxx domain idea to a standstill: in a meeting in Lisbon, the board voted down ICM Registry's proposal, 9 to 5. In turning down the .xxx TLD application yet again, ICANN's board cited a number of reasons, including public policy concerns and varying global standards over what constitutes adult content. ICANN was concerned that it would ultimately end up being responsible for content found in the proposed TLD, noting that the belief of all pornographic content moving to the new domain and henceforth being easily blocked simply isn't going to happen. ICM Registry's proposals have run into opposition from the US government, the American Civil Liberties Union, and some conservative religious groups. Many pornographic website operators also opposed the move, as they feared that an .xxx TLD would result in governments restricting access to all sites in the domain, leading to a drop in traffic and revenues.
"The ICM application raises significant law enforcement compliance issues because of countries' varying laws relating to content and practices that define the nature of the application, therefore obligating ICANN to acquire responsibility related to content and conduct," said ICANN.
Link: Forum Discussion (Thanks Hum)
News source: Ars Technica
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