ICANN Email Archives: [stld-rfp-xxx]

My name is Kelley Beatty and I am the Deputy Executive Director of WiredSafety. WiredSafety is a charity formed in the United States which operates worldwide through its thousands of unpaid volunteers. (I am a Canadian citizen and resident.) It is the largest Internet Help and Safety Organization in the world. WiredSafety (which used to be known as ?Cyberangels?) operates WiredKids.org, WiredSafety.org, WiredPatrol.org and Cyberlawenforcement.org. Dr. Parry Aftab is our Executive Director, a cyberlawyer and child advocate. (She is also an unpaid volunteer.) Our leadership team is comprised of residents of Europe, Asia, South and Central America and Australia.

We have worked tirelessly for many years to keep everyone, child and adult alike, safe online and to teach Internet users how to protect their privacy and security online. In our work on the front lines we have seen first hand the methods used by some adult content sites to mislead people online, intentionally target children and to exploit the personal information given to them by their adult customers. Our organization also fights child pornography online. The increase of child pornography and sites advertising the sexual exploitation of children is particularly alarming. At the same time, there are gaps in the child pornography laws around the world. We have been investigating potentials for self-regulation and the adoption of responsible privacy and security practices by the adult online industry since 1998. In response to ICM?s and IFFOR?s application, we have developed a White Paper based on our research and expertise and those of other experts in the field. This White Paper concludes that the .xxx TLD, when combined with best practice codes of conduct, can play an important part in protecting the rights of adults to view legal adult content while also protecting children and adults from fraud, marketing abuses and privacy and security risks.

I am submitting this comment, including the Whitepaper, on behalf of our NGO organization, WiredSafety. I have attached a copy in pdf format for the convenience of the ICANN Staff as well as the link to the White Paper at our site. The White paper and its conclusion supporting the .xxx application are expressly incorporated by reference herein and is part of this comment.

We firmly believe that this .xxx TLD application is a significant and positive step towards protecting children from unscrupulous adult content marketing practices while not infringing on adults? rights to view legal pornography. When combined with education, awareness, parental control technology and the enforcement of existing laws and regulations, the .xxx TLD can help reduce the inadvertent exposure of our children to graphic sexual images. At the same time it can help improve the privacy and security of adult website and services consumers. Please accept this comment in support of ICM?s and IFFOR?s .xxx TLD application.

Respectfully submitted,

Kelley Beatty

Deputy Executive Director,

WiredSafety Group

kelley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Whitepaper can also be read at www.wiredsafety.org/whitepaper.html

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