NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya's government announced today that it has rejected .XXX to operate in its country.
Communications Secretary Bitange Ndemo said Kenya would not certify the sponsored top-level domain that was recently approved by the ICANN.
"We are not going to allow .XXX in this country; it's actually a certificate for people to watch pornography," Ndemo said.
Ndemo made the announcement at the 20th anniversary celebrations of World Press Freedom Day today.
"Some countries have that freedom but parents have the responsibility of stopping their children from accessing these sites," Ndemo said. "Most parents in Kenya are not Internet savvy unlike their children so such material would not be controlled."
Kenya joins India as countries blocking .XXX.
Diane Duke, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition, said that the adult industry trade group still encourages businesses to “Just say NO.”
"This reinforces our stance, .XXX will not only be significantly devalued before it even launches, but also may put adult companies’ dot coms at risk," she told XBIZ. "The irony is that adult businesses will pay 10 times more for .XXX then they pay for their dot coms."
ICM Registry's Greg Dumas, in response to Kenya's move, said that the .XXX operator understands some governments will balk at allowing the sTLD in their countries.
"We recognize as a fact of life that some governments around the world are less protective of the right of their people to make such choices for themselves, and they use various criteria for selecting material to block," Dumas told XBIZ. "This is already occurring and will persist with or without the existence of a .XXX domain.
"The .XXX domain was conceived and approved as a voluntary measure, and ICM Registry is dedicated to preserving it as such."