.XXX unusually removed from ICANN's agenda

[Cains]

The proposed .xxx porn domain has been kicked into the long grass just days before it was due to meet final approval.

ICANN chairman Vint Cerf stunned an open meeting of the governmental advistory committee (GAC) in Vancouver late on Tuesday when he announced that the whole issue had been pulled from the Board meeting agenda - where it had been the first topic of discussion.

The reason given (this time) was that the GAC needed time to review a 350-page ICANN report on the domain's feasibility before it could provide its approval (or disapproval).

That's a red herring though. The report was completed on 31 August, and is mostly complimentary about the proposed domain. Not only that but all the issues surrounding the domain are already well known to everyone involved, and up until Cerf's sudden announcement, had been effectively given the green light.

ICANN has come under pressure to release the report and so provide adequate excuse for delaying .xxx's approval yet again. The people behind .xxx, ICM Registry, opposed its release, complaining that no other new domains had had their ICANN report released before they had been granted final approval and that they were being unfairly treated.

However, if rumours are to be believed, ICANN took a top-level decision to release the report and so provide a delay excuse, after EU commissioner Viviane Reding called the head of ICANN Paul Twomey direct and threatened to withdraw all the EU's representatives unless the issue was pulled. Twomey this morning denied he had had any communication with Reding over the issue.

If would certainly be an unusual decision on Reding's part, especially since the EU has been mostly supportive of .xxx. It is only Brazil and the US administration that remain opposed to the domain.

More likely is that the US government intervened but is desperate to avoid being seen to do so because of the ongoing Internet governance conflict, where the US government retains unilateral control of the Internet but claims never to use apply it.

The Bush administration has been very effectively lobbied by the Christian right, and the US is desperate to make it look as though other governments are equally concerned about .xxx. The conspriacy theory is that by delaying .xxx, the EU puts a spotlight on the US' attempts to sway the course of the Internet.

Very very strange

[Jer]

It is only Brazil and the US administration that remain opposed to the domain.

Very nice.

[tranza]

Originally Posted by Jer

Very nice.

Damn, thanks for highlighting that!

[FightThisPatent]

Originally Posted by Cains

Very very strange

Only strange if you are are an ICM supporter.

Everyone else can clearly see how .XXX is a bad idea.

.KIDS TLD is the ONLY way to truly keep kids safe from seeing the "bad stuff".


you still a TGP webmaster Cains?


Fight the .XXX!

[Cains]

Originally Posted by FightThisPatent

Only strange if you are are an ICM supporter.

Everyone else can clearly see how .XXX is a bad idea.

Very odd circumstances, I'm sure even you'd agree with that. A report being completed 2 months ago but only released 1 week ago and now the proposal 'suddenly delayed' without any real reason.

[adultchica]

i am not surprised to hear about this. There has been buzz for a while that it was going to get dumped.

[uvort]

Originally Posted by FightThisPatent

Only strange if you are are an ICM supporter.

Everyone else can clearly see how .XXX is a bad idea.

.KIDS TLD is the ONLY way to truly keep kids safe from seeing the "bad stuff".


you still a TGP webmaster Cains?


Fight the .XXX!

.KIDS nice..

[Linkster]

Originally Posted by Cains

Very odd circumstances, I'm sure even you'd agree with that. A report being completed 2 months ago but only released 1 week ago and now the proposal 'suddenly delayed' without any real reason.

There's nothing sudden about it and the article is extremely slanted - this was real news back in August when the US Commerce Dept put the brakes on this - since they control the authoratative root domain controls - there's really nothing much that can be done - and I hope ICANN doesnt try to do this as they will look stupid for allowing those domains. They voted it down back in 2000 and disapproved ICMs control over the domains - obviously somebody did some good "lobbying" to someone in ICANN to get it to go through this time (read - probably some real nice bribes - but just supposition)

[Drake]

Good riddance. Fightthepatent, great idea! .KIDS is an awesome solution!