Icann Spurns A Porn-Site Suffix

ICANN SPURNS A PORN-SITE SUFFIX
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Christopher Rhoads christopher.rhoads@wsj.com]
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which governs domain names and other technical Internet matters, rejected a controversial proposal to create a domain name for the adult entertainment industry. Icann's board Wednesday rejected the proposal for the new domain name suffix, called dot-xxx, by a 9-5 vote. The board's rejection was based in part on questions about whether the targeted usership -- the adult entertainment industry -- supported such a domain name suffix. It also cited "public policy concerns." The matter has exploded into a global debate, involving conservative Christian groups, child protection advocates, First Amendment lawyers and others about how and whether such a domain name suffix would address concerns about online pornography, an industry with an estimated annual revenue of up to $5 billion. Beyond that, the proposal focused attention on the role of the U.S. government in managing the Internet.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114730077808949475.html?mod=todays_us_marketplace
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