posted on ICANN by Tom Hymes:
http://forum.icann.org/lists/xxx-tld.../msg00412.html
(The following letter is posted with the permission of Larry Flynt. The
link is to a .jpg of the letter. - Tom Hymes)
http://www.freespeechonline.org/webd...rXXXLetter.jpg
April 2006
Dear ICANN Representatives,
Speaking on behalf of my company, Flynt Management Group, LLC I would
like to state my opposition to the creation of a dot xxx top level
domain (TLD), which I believe represents a direct threat to freedom of
speech on the Internet. Legislation was recently introduced in the U.S.
senate that will create a mandatory .xxx TLD, and in Australia a law has
been proposed that would institute ISP-level filtering of adult content.
Even if these individual initiatives fail, they have convinced me that
is it inevitable that government will continue to try to impose a
regulatory scheme on dot xxx that is unnecessary and unconstitutional.
Flynt Management Group, LLC has been a leader in the adult entertainment
industry for 32 years. As a producer of high quality adult products made
by adults for adults, my company has helped make this industry the
legitimate business it is today. I am dedicated to supporting a
responsible working environment that conforms to the laws of the land,
and actively support efforts to make the Internet safe for children,
paticularly through education, good business practices, and by
advocating the use of filtering technologies, which have become
increasingly effective and easy to use.
But dot xxx is an inherently dangerous idea with no real purpose. Only
if it becomes a tool of censorship will it achieve its goal of
preventing access to adult content by minors, and if it falls short of
that goal, what reason for it was there for it in the first place,
especially if alternative methods and tools can achieve the same
results. This industry is open to all solutions to making the Internet
a safer and freer place, but dot xxx is not one of them.
Because of these concerns and others, I respectfully request that ICANN
reject the current ICM Registry application.
Sincerely,
Larry Flynt
President
