The group that oversees Internet domain names said on Wednesday it had
postponed a decision to set up a special .xxx domain for sex sites
that has drawn opposition from conservative activists.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, was
scheduled to hear the proposal on Tuesday but postponed its decision
until September 15 after the U.S. Commerce Department asked for more
time to hear objections.
In a letter dated August 11, the Commerce Department said it had
received nearly 6,000 letters and e-mails from people who are
concerned that it would make life easier for the online sex industry.
An internal ICANN group that represents the United States and other
governments also asked for more time for public input. The group did
not say which governments had objected to the domain.
ICANN announced in June that it would move ahead with plans to
evaluate the domain, pitched by ICM Registry Inc., a private company
which is proposing to run the domain as a sort of online red-light
district that would enable people to easily find porn or filter it
out.
".XXX was deferred in response to requests from the applicant ICM, as
well as ICANN Government Advisory Committee Chairman's and the US
Department of Commerce's request to allow for additional time for
comments by interested parties," ICANN said in a statement.
Efforts to ban or segregate online pornography have failed in the
United States for years on free-speech grounds.
ICANN in the past has resisted congressional attempts to set up a
domain for sex sites on the grounds that it doesn't want to regulate
online content.
Sex sites wouldn't be required to sign up for .xxx addresses but
allowing ICM to handle the domain would sidestep those issues, an
ICANN spokesman said in June.
That didn't sit well with conservative activists who worry that a .xxx
domain will further legitimize the porn industry and won't make it
easier to avoid sexual content online.
The Family Research Council, a conservative group, has urged its
members to contact the Commerce Department and ICANN, and a Web site
called ConservativePetitions.com says it has gathered 1,867 signatures
opposing the .xxx domain.
In its letter to ICANN, the Commerce Department said it had received
an "unprecedented" volume of correspondence on the issue.
A lawyer who has helped ICM through the application process was not
immediately available for comment.
Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited.
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