Nearly seven years after its initial proposal, the controversial .XXX domain, intended as an online "red light district" for pornographic websites, is soon to be reconsidered by the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which voted not to approve (but did not reject) the proposal in May of 2006.
The idea of a virtual seedy neighborhood has had its ups and downs over the years. ICM Registry unlikely allies, The Free Speech Coalition (i.e., porn peddlers) and concerned Christian organizations set up a series of blocks.
Focus on the Family and Family Research Council, with concerns echoed by President George W. Bush, opposed the .XXX domain creation for fear that a virtual red light district would legitimize and propagate pornography online. Approval of the domain would be, in their estimations, indirectly condoning it. After thousands of letters poured into Michael Gallagher's Commerce Department office, he asked ICANN to delay the approval.
Around the same time, Senators Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.) tried to create the domain via a bill in the Senate, which also required dotcom pornographers to relocate to the .XXX domain to make it easier to filter the content. The Free Speech Coalition, arguing that such a requirement would carry unfair costs for the multi-billion dollar industry, came out against it immediately.
Protests, logic, and unlikely partnerships aside, ICM Registry's proposed porn district is on ICANN's plate again this year, with some newly added concessions. ICANN published the required changes to
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ICANN Reconsiders Virtual Red Light District
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