TORONTO- A Canadian non-profit company is to be the primary manager for a new internet domain, .xxx, a new virtual red light district approved for the internet by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in June.
The Toronto-based International Foundation for Online Responsibility (IFFOR) is the sponsor for .xxx., according to a PC World report. ICM Registry is the owner of the domain, but IFFOR will independently oversee all aspects of the operation of the .xxx domain.
According to its web-site, the IFFOR includes as part of its goals to: “promote the principles set forth in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights related to free expression” as it relates to pornography; and “protect the privacy and security of consenting adult consumers of online adult-entertainment goods and services.”
Meanwhile in the US, the Bush administration is opposing the creation of the .xxx domain, scheduled for final approval by the ICANN tomorrow. “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,” said Commerce Department assistant secretary Michael Gallagher, as reported by ZDNet news.
The Family Research Council supports the Bush administration’s efforts to block the .xxx domain. The 6,000 letters sent were in part due to the FRC’s actions. “The ‘.xxx’ domain was never intended to force the porn industry to leave the ‘.com’ domain, which has been a cash cow for pornographers,” said Family Research Council spokesman Patrick Trueman, in a release. “Indeed, any law attempting to force pornographers to relocate to ‘.xxx’ would be constitutionally suspect and not likely to be effective. Instead, if the ‘.xxx’ domain were established, pornographers would keep their lucrative ‘.com’ commercial sites and expand to even more sites on ‘.xxx,’ thus becoming even more of a menace to society. Pornography violates the dignity of the women and men involved, destroys marital bonds, and pollutes the minds of child and adult consumers.” A result of the FRC’s efforts means that the final approval for “.xxx” will be delayed until September 15.
In related news, child pornography has become a multi-billion dollar commercial enterprise, and is among the fastest growing businesses on the Internet, according to a National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) press release. Arrests in the US for the possession of child pornography, during a one-year period from 2000 to 2001, revealed that 83% possessed pornographic material that involved children between ages 6 and 12; 39% had material involving children between ages 3 and 5; and 19% had images of infants or toddlers under age 3. . Since 1997, the number of child pornography images on the Internet is estimated to have increased by 1500%.