ICANN Chairman Vint Cerf said Wednesday that the issue had been removed from the agenda of the upcoming ICANN Board meeting due to time constraints. He did not indicate when it might be reintroduced.
The news reportedly surprised everyone including Stuart Lawley, chairman of .XXX's sponsoring organization, ICM Registry, which has spent millions of dollars pushing the bid this far. Lawley was scheduled to give a presentation regarding the proposed domain at the same meeting just minutes after Cerf's statement.
“We’re awaiting more information,” Lawley told XBiz. “We’re still in Vancouver, engaged in discussion with Governmental Advisory Committee members and ICANN officials and attempting to respond to issues.”
Lawley said he could not offer further comment on the issue, but speculation about the reasons for the abrupt change is reportedly brewing at the ICANN meeting in Vancouver, where some are claiming that EU Commissioner Viviane Reding personally ordered the domain’s removal from the agenda, though ICANN officials have denied they’ve been in communication with Reding.
Others are speculating that the campaign of U.S. Christian conservatives has won the ear of the Bush administration, which must approve all ICANN decisions.
Officials said the issue was dropped from the agenda in order to give GAC time to review a 350-page report by ICANN regarding .XXX, released week, though it’s been completed for more than two months. No timetable was given for the review. Approval of .XXX has already been delayed numerous times, including when Pope John Paul II died.
Ideally, .XXX is meant to provide an Internet area specifically for pornography that would be self-regulated. Only adult business owners would be allowed to apply for an .XXX domain, pay a premium and be expected to sign up using best practice rules and guidelines.
An independent panel of experts, including organizations concerned about pornography on the Internet, would be entitled to review the guidelines and find workable compromises.
For consumers, the new domain would present the advantage of keeping adult content separate from other Internet content. For companies producing adult content, advantages may include an increase in customers who feel more comfortable handing over credit card details to a regulated domain.
Critics claim the domain would not impact the amount of pornography on the Internet, without pressuring the adult industry to get rid of its existing dotcoms and other domains. Some are also claiming that there would be an implied approval of adult content if .XXX is approved.