Internet users can implement specific searches looking for such content and, normally, they will find what they are looking for. Other times, people inadvertently will stumble onto such explicit content when searching for something else. Indeed, while a domain name may give one the impression that the site is suitable for a general audience of all ages, it may well turn out that the site displays graphic sexual content that is inappropriate for minors and for adults not wishing to view such content. So, what to do?
One proposed concept has been a .xxx Internet domain for sex-oriented Web sites. Just like .com is designed for businesses, .gov for government, and .edu for educational institutions, the idea behind .xxx is that there would be a specific domain name category for adult Web sites with sexual content. Internet users could more easily judge, based on seeing a .xxx domain name, what kind of content a site would feature before even clicking on a link to it.
The Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, is awaiting recommendations from a particular committee that is evaluating this proposal. ICANN had been proceeding with its evaluation of the proposal until the U.S. Department of Commerce sought more time to hear objections. ICANN cannot move forward without Commerce Department approval. At this point, it is not clear when the proposal will be fully and finally evaluated.
The proposal has had its share of critics. Some of them claim that a .xxx domain would provide legitimacy to the pornography industry. Supporters claim that a .xxx domain would make it easier for people to filter out content they do not want.
Time will tell in terms of where this all is heading. Your humble author believes that information is power. Namely, if one knows in advance the type of content displayed on a Web site by way of a domain name designation, that individual then has the power and free will to decide whether or not to view that content. That is better than stumbling onto content that does meet one's standards of suitability and taste.
Eric J. Sinrod is a partner in the San Francisco office of Duane Morris. His focus includes information technology and intellectual property disputes. To receive his weekly columns, send an e-mail to ejsinrod@duanemorris.com with "Subscribe" in the subject line. The views expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect those of Sinrod's law firm or its individual partners.
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This Eric Sinrod bozo clearly hasn't considered the argument fully, and isn't even aware of the state of current debate among well-informed individuals who have been following the debate. To summarize what has been carefully pounded out at great lengths on many intelligent discussion sites:
First, no one has the authority or the means to enforce adult sites use of the .XXX domain. Sure, some publishers will jump at the chance to register a .XXX site. Others will be happy to keep with their current, sometimes misleading domain names. Unless there is a regulatory authority with full, world-wide jurisdiction and investigative power, adding a .XXX domain only *expands* the space available to porn publishers. They'll have all their existing space, plus this entirely new .XXX domain. And yet the average user still will not have advance knowledge of a site's content before clicking a link.
Secondly, even if enforcement was plausable, there will always be sites that fall into marginal categories. Consider a site with graphic sexual pictures, but also with detailed, medically accurate information about those pictures. Is it porn? Is it medical? Is it informational? And most of all, does this imaginary regulatory body have the ability to properly judge?
Eric Sinrod needs to rethink his position, and actually have something to contribute before putting pen to paper again.