ICM Industry Reservation Now Open, FSC Dubious

JUPITER, Fla. — ICM Registry, which lost its bid to obtain the ICANN Board’s support for the .XXX sponsored top-level-domain, said that response to its “industry reservation” period has been “staggering,” but the Free Speech Coalition does not see registration as tantamount to support.

As XBIZ reported on Sunday, ICM planned to offer the “industry reservation” period to the adult entertainment community while it pursued its appeal of the ICANN Board’s 9-5 decision to reject .XXX. The company also has filed a Freedom of Information suit against the departments of state and commerce, alleging that both improperly denied the company access to government documents surrounding the .XXX approval process.

“The reservation period is separate from our appeal and any lawsuits,” ICM President Stuart Lawley told XBIZ. “We are simply using our resources efficiently while we are in the appeals stage. We had already built these systems as part of our anticipated launch, and we also have very skilled staff on hand.”

While Lawley encouraged webmasters to “apply to secure their existing domains early,” Tom Hymes, communications director for the FSC, was wary of the company’s motives.

“This is a hostile move against both the adult industry and ICANN,” Hymes told XBIZ. “This looks like a pure act of desperation.”

While Lawley has said that the volume of registration has been high, despite the lack of a media push, Hymes said that participation was nothing more than “defensive registration.”

“Defensive registration, where webmasters sign up to protect themselves, is not a sign of support,” Hymes said. “ICANN is aware of that practice, which occurs outside of the .XXX issue. It is a well-known concept to ICANN."

Lawley saw the rush to register differently.

“We always knew the TLD had a lot of support from members of the sponsored community,” Lawley said.

Reed Lee, an attorney for the FSC, said that he didn’t think that registration translated into support.

“For ICM this is solely a business issue,” Lee told XBIZ. “But ICANN doesn’t make decisions exclusively based on money. ICANN rejected .XXX because it was a bad idea.”

In the meantime, ICM continues to accept reservations free of charge. Although a disclaimer on the ICM site acknowledge that ICANN had not, and may not, accept .XXX, Lawley stressed that there was “no downside for anyone” who registered.

For webmasters worried that they could lose out on potentially valuable real estate should ICANN decide to reverse its .XXX decision, ICM has a method to moderate any disputes that should arise, according to Lawley.

“There are several equitable methods to decide a tie break in the case of multiple qualifying applications for a specific domain,” Lawley said. “We have a firm idea on how we will decide these, but at this point have decided not to publish the method we will most likely choose. The reason we have done this is that by doing so, [we] would possibly give applicants an opportunity to ‘game the system,’ which we do not want.”

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

UK Lawmaker Calls for Appointment of 'Porn Minister'

Baroness Gabrielle Bertin, the Conservative member of Parliament who recently convened a new anti-pornography task force, is calling for the appointment of a “minister for porn,” according to British news outlet The Guardian.

FSC Toasts Jeffrey Douglas for 30 Years of Service

n the very same evening when the adult industry was hit hard by the Supreme Court ruling supporting Texas’ controversial age verification law, HB 1181, members of the Free Speech Coalition board, staff and supporters gathered to celebrate Jeffrey Douglas’ 30 years as board chair — a fitting reflection of his reputation as an eternal optimist.

TTS Opens UK Testing Location

Talent Testing Service (TTS) has opened a new U.K. location in Ware, Hertfordshire.

FSC: Age-Verification Laws Go Into Effect South Dakota, Georgia, Wyoming on July 1

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has published a statement regarding new age verification laws set to go into effect tomorrow in South Dakota, Georgia, and Wyoming.

FSC Responds to Supreme Court Decision on Texas AV Law

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has released a statement responding to last week's Supreme Court decision on FSC v. Paxton, the Texas age verification law.

Sex Work CEO Debuts Upgraded 'GPTease' AI Assistant

Sex Work CEO has introduced the new Canvas in-chat editing feature to its AI-powered, NSFW text generator, GPTease.

UPDATED: Supreme Court Rules Against Adult Industry in Pivotal Texas AV Case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday issued its decision in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, striking a blow against the online adult industry by ruling in support of Texas’ controversial age verification law, HB 1181.

North Carolina Passes Extreme Bill Targeting Adult Sites

The North Carolina state legislature this week ratified a bill that would impose new regulations that industry observers have warned could push adult websites and platforms to ban most adult creators and content.

Supreme Court Ruling Due Friday in FSC v. Paxton AV Case

The U.S. Supreme Court will rule on Friday in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, the adult industry trade association's challenge to Texas’ controversial age verification law, HB 1181.

Ofcom: More Porn Providers Commit to Age Assurance Measures

A number of adult content providers operating in the U.K. have confirmed that they plan to introduce age checks in compliance with the Online Safety Act by the July 25 deadline, according to U.K. media regulator Ofcom.

Show More