CNET article on .XXX - Bush Administration Opposes .XXX

[seeric]

Older article, but still a good read.



From CNET.com News

The Bush administration is objecting to the creation of a .xxx domain, saying it has concerns about a virtual red-light district reserved exclusively for Internet pornography.

Michael Gallagher, assistant secretary at the Commerce Department, has asked for a hold to be placed on the contract to run the new top-level domain until the .xxx suffix can receive further scrutiny. The domain was scheduled to receive final approval Tuesday.

"The Department of Commerce has received nearly 6,000 letters and e-mails from individuals expressing concern about the impact of pornography on families and children," Gallagher said in a letter that was made public on Monday.

The sudden high-level interest in what has historically been an obscure process has placed the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in an uncomfortable position. ICANN approved the concept of an .xxx domain in June and approval of ICM Registry's contract to run the suffix was expected this week.

Other governments also have been applying pressure to ICANN in a last-minute bid to head off .xxx. A letter from ICANN's government advisory group sent Friday asks for a halt to "allow time for additional governmental and public policy concerns to be expressed before reaching a final decision."

ICM Registry--the for-profit company in Florida that plans to operate the .xxx registry--has told ICANN it would agree to a month's delay in the approval process to permit it to "address the concerns" raised by the Bush administration and other governments.

"We're focusing our attention on the Department of Commerce and ensuring that we're building this as a voluntary (top-level domain) for responsible companies," Jason Hendeles, founder of ICM Registry, said in a telephone interview on Monday.

Hendeles said that although the .xxx application is "already approved," his company is willing to try to allay fears about legitimizing pornography. "The industry has existed for a long time and is growing internationally and is doing what it can to fight child porn and to be a responsible industry," he said. "This is an opportunity for all the different voices to come together."

ICANN's delicate position
The multinational pressure, unprecedented in ICANN's seven-year history, places the organization in a delicate position. If it backs down, ICANN could be perceived as bowing to political interference--but if not, it could alienate government officials just as the United Nations is becoming more interested in taking over key Internet functions.

ICANN has not said what will happen next. John Jeffrey, ICANN's general counsel, said in an e-mail that "all of this correspondence and any other correspondence received will be given to the board for their consideration relating to this matter."

After ICANN's vote to approve .xxx, conservative groups in the United States called on their supporters to ask the Commerce Department to block the new suffix. The Family Research Council, for instance, warned that "pornographers will be given even more opportunities to flood our homes, libraries and society with pornography through the .xxx domain."

"The volume of correspondence opposed to creation of a .xxx (domain) is unprecedented," according to the Commerce Department's Gallagher. "Given the extent of the negative reaction, I request that the board (provide) adequate additional time for these concerns to be voiced and addressed before any additional action takes place."

Michael Froomkin, a law professor at the University of Miami, said it's not surprising ICANN's board has found itself in a pickle. "They're supposed to be picked for technical competence," Froomkin said. "They're not elected. They're not representative of anything much. Who would pick this group of people to make decisions about how we feel about (domains) with sexual connotations?"

At a recent United Nations summit on the Internet, Brazil's representative charged that ICANN was not responsive enough to the needs of developing countries: "For those that are still wondering what triple-X means, let's be specific, Mr. Chairman. They are talking about pornography. These are things that go very deep in our values in many of our countries. In my country, Brazil, we are very worried about this kind of decision-making process where they simply decide upon creating such new top-level generic domain names."

ICM Registry has proposed that it would handle the technical aspects of running the master database of .xxx sex sites. A second, nonprofit organization called the International Foundation for Online Responsibility would be in charge of setting the rules for .xxx.

ICANN's vote this year represents an abrupt turnabout from the group's earlier stance. In November 2000, the ICANN staff objected to the .xxx domain and rejected ICM Registry's first application.

At the time, politicians lambasted ICANN's move. Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., demanded to know why ICANN didn't approve .xxx "as a means of protecting our kids from the awful, awful filth, which is sometimes widespread on the Internet." Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., told (click for PDF) a federal commission that .xxx was necessary to force adult Webmasters to "abide by the same standard as the proprietor of an X-rated movie theater."

A government report from a few years ago hints that the Bush administration could choose unilaterally to block .xxx from being added to the Internet's master database of domains. The report notes that the Commerce Department has "reserved final policy control over the authoritative root server."

[Juicy D. Links]

interesting....chirp chirppppp

[JD]

maybe that'll put a end to all the .xxx bullshit.. unless someone lines a few pockets that is...

[baddog]

well, I just received some pretty interesting information. I guess we should keep our eyes open for the next couple of weeks.

[seeric]

Originally Posted by baddog

well, I just received some pretty interesting information. I guess we should keep our eyes open for the next couple of weeks.

if its the same i got then hold on tight.

[Kevsh]

Thanks for the update but very quickly what Bush wants or doesn't want is becoming irrelevant.

[polish_aristocrat]

Originally Posted by Kevsh

Thanks for the update but very quickly what Bush wants or doesn't want is becoming irrelevant.

actually it's not really an update

[polish_aristocrat]

Originally Posted by A1R3K

if its the same i got then hold on tight.

im curious what exact info you got

[Nikki_Licks]

Originally Posted by A1R3K

if its the same i got then hold on tight.

It's nice to see the Bush admin step up. They possibly have some power and can see how this .xxx will only make access to sites readily available and even accessed more than they are today

Ok, com on. The suspense is not good for beer thirty. I have heard things also, but I have to take everything I hear with a grain of salt, not unless it is a pretty good source

[baddog]

Originally Posted by Nikki_Licks

Ok, com on. The suspense is not good for beer thirty. I have heard things also, but I have to take everything I hear with a grain of salt, not unless it is a pretty good source

Well, not speaking for A1R3K, but it comes down to this. Sometimes some of us become privy to information that is not meant for public consumption. Leaking said information can result in not being kept in the loop, so to speak.

I don't know if what A1R3K was told is the same as what I was told, but I will suggest that if what was leaked to me is accurate, it could get very interesting around here very soon.

We shall see. My source rates higher than "pretty good."

[seeric]

Originally Posted by baddog

Well, not speaking for A1R3K, but it comes down to this. Sometimes some of us become privy to information that is not meant for public consumption. Leaking said information can result in not being kept in the loop, so to speak.

I don't know if what A1R3K was told is the same as what I was told, but I will suggest that if what was leaked to me is accurate, it could get very interesting around here very soon.

We shall see. My source rates higher than "pretty good."

^^^^^^^what he said

hang on tight.

[JD]

secrets suck c'mon baddog you can tell lil ole' me cant'cha :::batseyes:::

[extreme]

Good interesting or bad interesting?

[Xplicit]

hahaha NICE!

They're on our side and they think they're fighting against us.

That is fucking awesome. Dumbfucks!

[amacontent]

The Bush admin oppses everything. Someone should paint a small black mustache under his nose and call him Adolph.

[Loryn]

Originally Posted by Xplicit

hahaha NICE!

They're on our side and they think they're fighting against us.

That is fucking awesome. Dumbfucks!

What is even funnier is people think the Dems are fighting for them and they are the ones who are really going to fuck us. LOL That is fucking awesome!

HILLARY HATES PORN and she is apart of NOW (a organization that thinks Victoria's Secret ads are degrading to women) AND she has came right out and said she wants to put restraints on the internet, but everyone just jumps on board, YEA the DEMS will fight for us, they love porn. Oh the irony!

Just to add one more thing, the battle is not with one side or the other, it is with individuals on either side that you have to battle.

[tony286]

Originally Posted by Loryn-Adult.com

What is even funnier is people think the Dems are fighting for them and they are the ones who are really going to fuck us. LOL That is fucking awesome!

HILLARY HATES PORN and she is apart of NOW (a organization that thinks Victoria's Secret ads are degrading to women) AND she has came right out and said she wants to put restraints on the internet, but everyone just jumps on board, YEA the DEMS will fight for us, they love porn. Oh the irony!

this is boring they dont love it us but they have better things to do. All major porn bullshit has happened during Republican administrations. You can look it up yourself.

[Nikki_Licks]

Originally Posted by baddog

Well, not speaking for A1R3K, but it comes down to this. Sometimes some of us become privy to information that is not meant for public consumption. Leaking said information can result in not being kept in the loop, so to speak.

I don't know if what A1R3K was told is the same as what I was told, but I will suggest that if what was leaked to me is accurate, it could get very interesting around here very soon.

We shall see. My source rates higher than "pretty good."

I can understand the confidentially you have with your source. I have not liked what I have been hearing in the wings.....so I will wait and see how this pans out.

[seeric]

Originally Posted by Loryn-Adult.com

What is even funnier is people think the Dems are fighting for them and they are the ones who are really going to fuck us. LOL That is fucking awesome!

HILLARY HATES PORN and she is apart of NOW (a organization that thinks Victoria's Secret ads are degrading to women) AND she has came right out and said she wants to put restraints on the internet, but everyone just jumps on board, YEA the DEMS will fight for us, they love porn. Oh the irony!

Just to add one more thing, the battle is not with one side or the other, it is with individuals on either side that you have to battle.

yeah she probably started up on all that shit when bill stuck his cock in a young intern.

sucks to be the jilted cheated on woman. so happens this one has the power to bite back. society wont allow her to push it around very far. her crusade is flawed in the fact that it isn't about fucking us for money like .xxx, hers is a matter of the heart and she will make mistakes through not thinking with her brain. ........ i hope.

[baddog]

Originally Posted by Nikki_Licks

I can understand the confidentially you have with your source. I have not liked what I have been hearing in the wings.....so I will wait and see how this pans out.

Oh, I have a feeling that there are going to be a lot of disappointed people . . . but again, I could be reading between the lines. My sources have to protect their confidentiality as well. I am sure I am only given enough info to protect my source as well.

[starpimps]

interesting read a1r3k

[baddog]

Originally Posted by Loryn-Adult.com

What is even funnier is people think the Dems are fighting for them and they are the ones who are really going to fuck us. LOL That is fucking awesome!

HILLARY HATES PORN and she is apart of NOW (a organization that thinks Victoria's Secret ads are degrading to women) AND she has came right out and said she wants to put restraints on the internet, but everyone just jumps on board, YEA the DEMS will fight for us, they love porn. Oh the irony!

people don't want to hear that . . . no matter how accurate

[F U S I O N]

Originally Posted by extreme

Good interesting or bad interesting?

[seeric]

meowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

[Kolargol]

Originally Posted by Loryn-Adult.com

What is even funnier is people think the Dems are fighting for them and they are the ones who are really going to fuck us. LOL That is fucking awesome!

HILLARY HATES PORN and she is apart of NOW (a organization that thinks Victoria's Secret ads are degrading to women) AND she has came right out and said she wants to put restraints on the internet, but everyone just jumps on board, YEA the DEMS will fight for us, they love porn. Oh the irony!

Just to add one more thing, the battle is not with one side or the other, it is with individuals on either side that you have to battle.

She is also the one who fights heavy metal bands and wanted to ban their gigs in the US. Bush is not very clever but Hillary is evil.

[Fizzgig]

If the right wingers are against it, it can't be all bad right?

[Nikki_Licks]

Originally Posted by baddog

Oh, I have a feeling that there are going to be a lot of disappointed people . . . but again, I could be reading between the lines. My sources have to protect their confidentiality as well. I am sure I am only given enough info to protect my source as well.

If by chance making the comment that there may some disappointed people...lets assume it does not pass, the people who jumped up, kissing Lawleys ass and pre registering domains would be in big jeopardy. I think that if webmasters found out who they are, they would stop conducting business with them...hence bye-bye to their businesses. This is why they want to hide in the shadows, not be seen or heard or exposed to the adult community. Nothing like playing the fence to cover your ass, huh?

Lawley is using this pre registering of .xxx as an admittance that everyone is in favor of his scam. ICM used this same tactic last year to show all the support that they had, while offering pre registration of .xxx domains, claiming everyone wants it, it was all under false pretences.

This in itself should tell everyone this ICM and Lawley can not be trusted with their nefarious ways.

[xenilk]

Quite an interesting read. And some of you definitivly have too many secrets :P

[Xplicit]

.XXX will become a reality if Hillary wins.