Ben Metcalfe

.xxx porn domain agreed

ICANN have agreed to the proposal for a “.xxx” porn domain. The domain, to be operated by ICM Registry, will be available to anyone running a “XXX” website. Domains will cost $75 dollars to register – although it’s not clear whether that’s for 1 or 2 years.

However, it won’t be mandatory for porn sites to be operated solely under the “.xxx” domain – meaning that this is just another ballooning of the domain structure rather than a useful opportunity to segregate this kind of content under a clearly identifiable naming convention. Of course such a policy could never be enforced anyway, and the owners of key domains such as sex.com would have enough financial backing to fight off any such legal threat.

So, I’m not really sure what the purpose of .xxx is – other than an opportunity for domain registrars to earn another slice of cash as everyone is forced to register another domain to protect their online identity. I wonder who at work has the unenviable task of registering bbc.xxx before some filth-peddling data pimp gets their first?

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