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ICANN rejects .xxx domain

No dedicated domain suffix for adult sites, although Net naming regulator denies caving in to conservatives.

Ingrid Marson
2 min read
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the group that sets domain name regulation, has voted down a proposal to create a domain for adult Web sites.

ICANN's board on Wednesday voted 9 to 5 against the proposal, which would have led to the creation of a .xxx domain suffix for pornography sites.

The plan has drawn considerable controversy over recent months, with conservative groups campaigning against the domain due to concerns that it would legitimize pornography. Advocates of the plan have denied this, claiming that it would make it easier for Web users to avoid porn.

H?kon Haugnes, president of Global Name Registry, a domain name registration organization which oversees the .name domain, said ICANN's decision was not unexpected given the political opposition to the domain name.

"I don't think it's surprising for anyone in the industry. It's been a very, very contentious issue and very politicized," he said. "The discussion moved away from technical considerations to becoming politicized."

Despite ardent political interest in the issue in the issue, Paul Twomey, the chief of ICANN, told the Associated Press that the decision "was not driven by a political consideration."

ICM Registry, which proposed the .xxx domain, was unable to comment in time for this article. Haugnes said he empathizes with ICM Registry, as it has gone through the application process when it submitted the domain name. Even when ICANN agrees to a domain, it can take a considerable time to launch it to the market, he added.

"It took us five hard years to get .name into portals so people can use it within their e-mail address," he said.

ICANN has twice abandoned plans to vote on the creation of a .xxx domain, most recently last December.

Ingrid Marson of ZDNet UK reported from London.