If approved, the proposal could potentially let companies and individuals make up their own top-level domains in a fashion similar to how some countries have made use of the top-level domains assigned to them.
For example, the top-level domain .tv was introduced in 1996 and eventually assigned to the the Polynesian island nation of Tuvalu. The country wound up cutting a deal to sell domains bearing the dot-TV ending to anybody, not just citizens and businesses of Tuvalu.
In a similar fashion, companies and individuals might be able apply for their own unique top-level domain, which would cost "several thousand dollars" and be subject to a review process. Applicants would have to submit a business plan and demonstrate that their proposed top-level domain has some kind of "technical capacity."
But such a fluid system raises the specter of a recent pain the in the adult industry's neck: .XXX. To date, ICANN has regulated the existence, if not the use, of most top-level domains, and if they were to approve this proposal on Thursday, then someone could simply submit .XXX for approval.
Dr. Paul Twomey, chief executive of ICANN, said that the proposed new system would be open to anyone.
The adult industry reached a near-consensus in its opposition to the .XXX top-level domain. Free Speech Coalition Chairman Jeffrey Douglas said that .XXX would have meant there would be an Internet “ghettoization.”
“Having a wall around that community means there will be a restriction of access. Once .XXX is established, they will lose access,” Douglas said.
Other industry professionals opposed .XXX mainly because it would cost them a lot of money to buy equivalent domains in the .XXX webspace – all while lining the pockets of .XXX's champion, ICM President Stuart Lawley.
That sentiment extends beyond the adult industry.
Tim Berners-Lee, one of the instrumental figures in the conception of the Internet, has argued against all top-level domains besides .com, mainly because no one has ever regulated the other top-level domains besides .edu and .gov.
"Don't get me wrong – there are some reasons for which I'd like to open new domain names," he said. "It would be great to open new domains but only where a social system or technical system was very different. If you want to open a domain where you are numbering things like telephones, that may be useful. If you make a commitment to the integrity of that piece of the Web, then that would be interesting. I'm not against Top Level Domains at all. I think that if you're going to set one up, the governing of it should be fair. It should be run by a nonprofit and it should be technically sound. It should provide wider value to everyone and not just be set up to be a cash cow for people who want to sell you things."
The proposal being considered on Thursday also would allow for non-Roman characters in URLs. ICANN tested such usage last year.