Opposition to .xxx Domain
The .xxx TLD (top level domain) has been proposed as a designation for adult sites. Just like .gov designates a government site, .xxx would mean “adults only.” It would serve as a glaring sign that says “hey, there’s porn here!” Why then, is the über-conservative Family Research Council opposed to it?
The proposed .XXX domain – which was never intended to force the porn industry to leave the .COM domain – would allow pornographers to continue to sell hardcore, illegal porn on the .COM domain and expand to the .XXX domain.
That means perhaps twice as many Internet porn sites and twice the danger to children. In other words, it would not make the web safer for children; it would make it more dangerous. You can help stop the porn industry from expanding by sending a message to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) today.
Family Research Council
Twice the danger? Well, first off, .com isn’t the only TLD that houses pornography. .net, .info, .biz etc can do so as well, not to mention the individual ccTLD (country code top level domains). When the 240+ ccTLDs were introduced, did we see a 24000% percent increase in the number of pornography sites? This is lunacy. Pornography, like it or not, is a service, of sorts. It is a business. Businesses succeed, fail, and are created, based on the desires of the marketplace. The FRC would have you believe that there are young porn models and actors around the world saying “Oooh, there’s an .xxx domain designation available now! Let’s get twice as naked twice as often!”
There is an unlimited amount of “real estate” available on the internet. Having .xxx domains available would not lead to an increase in the amount of pornography available. It’s likely that existing sites would by .xxx versions of their existing .com or .net domains. This isn’t an increase in the amount of porn, any more than it would be an increase in the amount of porn if Playboy magazine started shipping with two copies of the issue glued together. It’s the same content, so it’s not really an increase in the amount of porn, now is it?
The worst part of this, is that the FRC is opposing something that could eventually be used to make the internet safer for children. See, most .com and .net pornography websites would quickly grab the .xxx domain. Having .xxx in the domain not only would act as a warning for kids, it would act as a magnet for pornography seekers! Thus over time, I would guess that the use of .com and .net domains for hardcore pornography would lessen, and thus, the line between the “safe” web and the “unsafe” web would become that much more concrete, which would make it safer for children.
The Bush Administration should not, in any way, be seen to facilitate the porn industry which has been a plague on our society since the establishment of the internet. The ‘.XXX’ domain proposal is an effort to pander to the porn industry and offers nothing but false hope to an American public which wants illegal pornographers prosecuted, not rewarded.
Family Research Council
Ah. Now we see what their game is. They don’t want to pornography to be clearly marked. They want to abolish pornography altogether. As you probably guessed, the FRC is no fan of that pesky First Ammendment. It gets in the way of their moral impositions. Hold on to your nipples… the FRC will be coming at you with a belt sander before you know it.
Regina Lynn from Wired has more.
