.XXX TLD Becomes Official


Txxx.jpghe Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has voted to approve the use of the .xxx generic top level domain (gTLD). The action has been under consideration for many years, and has been voted down more than once.

The idea behind using this TLD is the hope that pornographic Web sites with sexually explicit material will register their top domain name as a .xxx so it will be obvious which sites are pornographic and which are not.

This opens the possibility for parents to block Web sites with sexually explicit material simply by blocking the .xxx TLD. The one idea that seems to be overlooked is that this would just make it easier for children to find sites since they could add .xxx to any possible site domain.

The biggest opponent to the .xxx domains has, not surprisingly, been the porn industry because of the perceived step against free speech online. As of right now, the .xxx domain is completely optional like all TLD's. However, this appears to be a first step towards splitting the Internet into two fractions. Although there are no plans that Congress would require sexually explicit sites to change their TLD to .xxx it's a slippery slope. It seems to us that marking your porn site with a .xxx is kind of like walking through the woods with a deer suit on during hunting season. Why take the risk?

That said, all of this controversy and action will have accomplished one thing for sure. A huge influx of newly registered domains and the money gained from it. Popular adult sites may not switch their traffic to the .xxx version of their site, but they should register it in order to protect their main .com from their competition.

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