[no subject]
Dear Free Speech Coalition Members, As an adult webmaster, I am concerned and against the porposed .xxx domain. Most likely you are aware of, and gravely concerned about, the renewed interest in creating a .XXX TDL. Last May, FSC successfully opposed an attempt by Stuart Lawley, and his company ICM, to have .XXX accepted and implemented by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). Mr. Lawley and his company stand to make millions from this dealat the expense of the adult entertainment industry. .XXX is a very bad idea because: ? It "ghettoizes" the industry, making adult entertainment an easy target for anti-industry extremists and government intrusion. ? It will add, unnecessarily, to the cost of doing business. At $60 per URL per year, the cost to a member could reach tens of thousands of dollars annually. Many in the adult entertainment industry will purchase and park addresses, realizing no benefit to this added expense. Finally, there will be countless battles for names, and the resulting arbitra! tion will be costly. ? If a .XXX domain becomes available, it is likely that the United States and other countries will try to make it mandatory and subject to trans-Internet filtering that could effectively eliminate much of the adult content currently available on the Web. ? The .XXX option could enable the industry's enemies to convert even a voluntary .XXX domain use into an effectively mandatory requirement by pressuring private parties, such as credit card processors, to require .XXX use and compliance. In this way, ICM through unchecked rule-making could "back door" all the governmental regulations that we have beaten back. If that happens the industry would not have its most potent weapon, the First Amendment to challenge ICM because ICM is not a governmental entity. ? The ambiguity with which ICM plans to establish its governing board is of grave concern as there exists strong potential for censorship, which is clearly not in the best interest of the industry or for ICANN. |