ICANN Comments Pour In for Porn-Related gTLD Proposals

LOS ANGELES — Comments on the proposed .adult, .sex and .porn top-level domains keep piling up on ICANN's gTLD forum.

At post time, about 13 percent (776 of 6,151) of the comments on the ICANN Application Comments forum are directed at the three proposed gTLDs. ICANN started up the forum in early July and could green light some gTLDs as early as June 2013.

ICM Registry, which operates .XXX, has applied for .adult, .sex and .porn; Internet Marketing Solutions Ltd., meanwhile, has only applied for .sex.

Each of the 776 comments over one or more of the three extensions offers blunt criticism.

Headlines such as "Porn domain not needed or wanted," "Please don't  make the world worse" and "No more indecency" are atypical, as are some of the contributors — one repeat poster is Morality in Media President Patrick Trueman.

And just today, Saudi Arabia's Communications and Information Technology Commission, the country's communications regulatory czar, has come out against the three gTLD proposals, as well as others, asking for ICANN to refuse the applications.

"Many individuals and societies find this string offensive on religious and/or cultural grounds," the Saudi Arabian regulating agency posted on the ICANN site. "We oppose the introduction of [these] gTLD [strings] on both of these grounds, and because pornography causes huge damage to society's social fabric.

"There are already thousands of pornographic websites on the Internet. Allowing the applied-for string to be registered, can only increase proliferation of pornographic websites and pornographic material that may be accessed on the internet, often without any restriction, by the world's population including, of course, children."

Saudi regulators also posted comments objecting to .hot, .baby, .tattoo, .sexy, .bar, .casino, .dating, .sexy and .style.

There are about 1,900 applications submitted to ICANN for gTLDs.

Related:  

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

Adult Industry Educational, Networking Platform 'Imperfectly You' Launches

Imperfectly You, an educational and networking platform for adult industry workers, has officially launched.

Segpay to Launch News Network for High-Risk Merchants

Segpay has announced that it will launch the Segpay News Network (SNN) on April 15.

Age Verification Watch: Patching the Holes

This roundup provides an update on the latest news and developments on the age verification front as it impacts the adult industry.

Pineapple Support to Host Autism Spectrum Support Group

Pineapple Support is hosting a free online support group for performers and creators who are, or suspect they may be, on the autism spectrum.

ImLive Launches Revamped Member Loyalty Program

Cam platform ImLive has revamped its member loyalty program.

GoFundMe Set Up for Danny Ferretti's Medical Expenses

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up for Fangear founder Danny Ferretti, who requires extensive lung surgery.

Byborg Acquires Cuties AI

Byborg Enterprises has acquired adult artificial intelligence startup Cuties AI.

Irish Government Releases Report on Sex Work Decriminalization Legislation

The Irish government has released a report reviewing a 2017 law that decriminalized sex work across the country.

Texas Bill Would Require Age Verification for Online Sex Toy Sales

A new bill in the Texas state legislature would require online retailers to implement age verification of purchasers before selling “obscene devices” to anyone in that state.

New York Assemblyman Proposes Banning the Term 'Sex Work'

Republican New York Assembly Member Brian Maher has introduced a bill to prohibit the use of the term "sex work" in government documents.

Show More