CNET has a great article about the politics behind the .xxx domain name extension. The big issue is whether politicians will try to make .xxx mandatory for adult web sites.
I don’t think this will ever happen, and I hope it doesn’t. Look, I’m not a porn site junkie. But I do believe in property rights and freedom of speech. Politicians, no doubt, will try to make all adult web sites use the .xxx extension. They will be met with force from the adult industry’s lawyers, who are protecting some domain names worth over $10M each (no kidding!). When you’re talking about companies making millions each day, we’re talking a big challenge. The government shouldn’t be able to strip these people of domains they own and have legally used for years.
What could happen is regulation to prevent future adult web sites from appearing on non-.xxx domains, but this would be a mess to oversee.
Fortunately, according to the article, the ICM registry has thought through this and even has a legal defense fund ready to fight any challenges.
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