Asia Bizz: The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has approved the formation of the .XXX TLD (top-level domain) for the adult entertainment industry. The decision was made by the board of members at ICANN after a 9:3 voting result on Friday and they will work on an agreement with the ICM registry.
With the introduction of the .XXX domain, ICANN hopes that there will be better regulation of content on porn websites, and a crack down on child pornography sites.
Anyone who wants to register a .XXX domain has to fill out an application process, which will then be reviewed and approved by the International Foundation for Online Responsibility. The .XXX domain will be in place for adult entertainment websites and ICANN hopes that it will work in keeping minors away from such content, and at the same time, save internet users from computer viruses and malware that they unsuspectingly encounter. The move will also help users to block out websites with this TLD, so that it won’t come in the way of their browsing experience.
The approval has not gone down too well with several adult entertainment websites, who have decided to boycott the .XXX TLD. People who are against this domain state that they will be discriminated on the grounds of being a .XXX website and part of some “red-light” district online. At the same time, current .com adult domains will not be forced to shift to .XXX, and ICANN states that they have already received 200,000 .XXX pre-reservations.
