I'm Glad XXX Domain Failed

By: Larry Magid
Topics: Tech Talk

(AP)

Unlike some of my fellow Internet safety activists, I think that the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers did the right thing by rejecting the proposed .XXX top level domain designation. See Story

For the record, in addition to my work as technology commentator, I run SafeKids.com and Safeteens.com and am co-director of BlogSafety.com.

Despite years of advocacy on the part of its sponsors, I remain unconvinced that that the .XXX top level domain would have furthered the causes of child protection or free speech. It might have been effective had it been mandatory for all porn sites, but that would have brought up enormous free speech issues that many of us would not fathom. Because it would have been voluntary, there would continue to be porn sites with .com TLDs, possibly giving parents a false sense of security by believing that all porn was walled off. I don't agree with those who say it would have promoted porn nor do I fully agree with those who fear that such a voluntary process would have been a likely first step towards government regulation. I do, however, understand why some adult site operators and civil libertarians would worry about that, especially if the voluntary xxx didn't cut back significantly on the use of .com for porn site.

Also, the .XXX issue begged the question of user-supplied content on the Web on social networking sites as well as the risks of cyberbullying, self-destructive behavior and inappropriate contact between children and adults.

Having said that, I still think that all sites, including adult sites, should self-label by using the ICRA ratings that are available through the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI.ORG). Unlike registering for a .XXX domain, setting up an ICRA label is free. All websites that supported the .XXX proposal should now take the next step of registering if they haven't already done so. Disclosure: I am an unpaid member of the FOSI Advisory board.

Finally, it's an opportunity for all of us who care about Internet safety to remind parents that parental involvement and education can go a long way towards keeping our kids safe on the Internet.

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by sportminer March 31, 2007 2:02 AM EDT: I fail to understand what the "porn sites" really contribute to our standartd of living. I know its the free speach issue and I don't think Porn should ever be related to free speach, porn is related to a lower leverl of thinking I am glad failed.; Reply to this comment


by March 30, 2007 7:14 PM EDT: I was originally skeptical of the .*** domain proposal when it was first mooted at the COPA Commission seven years ago. What persuaded me that it was a useful idea was the way in which porn operators use multiple domains served by a single server. If one of those domains, say, www.fun.*** had to be labeled under the terms of the .*** domain proposal, then fun.com, fun.net and all the other sites served by that one server, would also carry an ICRA label. That one step alone would have hugely increased the number and use of content labels and made filtering tools that more efficient.

Also, ICM Registry included the creation of a new charitable Trust, the International Foundation for Online Responsibility which would have taken $10 of every $60 registration and distributed it to a range of non profit organizations involved in child protection efforts - from labeling systems such as our own, to public education campaigns and other initiatives that IFFOR found compelling and worthy of support.

I agree with you that now is a good time to reinforce the need for much better and comprehensive education efforts for parents, for teachers and for the kids themselves.

Stephen Balkam; Reply to this comment