In a rare display of bi-partisan cooperation, online pornographers and religious groups have joined together to oppose the proposed creation of a virtual red-light district on the Internet.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, plans to vote as early as next week on whether to approve the domain name for voluntary use by porn sites.
ICM Registry, Inc., is the company behind the proposal to create a �.xxx� Internet address. It believes �.xxx� is a go because it claims to have 76,000 pre-registrations on file as evidence of industry support.
Mark Kernes, a board member with the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association for the adult entertainment industry, begs to differ. He says that in order for a new Internet address to be created, �One of the criteria [must be] that it needs to have general support among the industry it�s supposed to serve, and it does not. I have not met one single webmaster or adult video producer that is in favor of �.xxx�, and I�ve met with a lot of them.�
Porn sites are largely concerned that the domain name, while billed as voluntary, would make it easier for governments to later mandate its use. They also believe that �.xxx� would effectively ghettoize sexual information on the web.
Religious groups worry that �.xxx� would legitimize and expand the already vast number of adult sites on the Internet. Website measurement company comScore Media Metrix estimates more than one third of all U.S. web surfers visit adult sites each month. It also stated that 4 percent of all Internet traffic and 2 percent of all surfing involved adult sites.
The �.xxx� designation is unlikely to have much effect on parents� ability to block porn sites for two reasons. First, it is voluntary. Second, a domain name serves merely as an easy-to-remember moniker for a site�s actual numeric Internet address. So even if a government were to mandate its use, a web-savvy child could simply punch in the numeric address of any blocked �.xxx� name.
ICANN has already rejected similar proposals twice since 2000.
