[IP] more on ICANN's "ex-ex-ex" domains and the slippery slope (fwd)
===== Forwarded message from Joichi Ito <jito@xxxxxxxxxxx> =====
\From: Joichi Ito <jito@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [IP] more on ICANN's "ex-ex-ex" domains and the slippery slope
Date: Fri, 03 Jun 2005 09:05:25 +0900
Dave:
http://joi.ito.com/archives/2005/06/03/
some_notes_on_the_xxx_top_level_domain.html
Please read the blog entry because it has links. I have included the
text below for convenience.
---
Yesterday the ICANN board discussed and approved ICANN staff to enter
into negotiations with ICM Registry, Inc. for the .XXX Top Level
Domain (TLD). I'm sure there will be a longer more complete
presentation from ICANN later about this, but as an individual board
member I thought I'd post a quick note before people got carried away
with speculation based on a lack of information.
I realize that the formal documents on the ICANN page are difficult
to read, but I suggest people take a look at the actual application
before jumping to conclusions about what the .XXX TLD is. It is
actually a balanced and well thought out structure that provides a
balanced approach to an issue with many stake holders.
The .XXX TLD is a sponsored TLD or sTLD with a sponsoring
organization. Policy will be managed by a non-profit organization
called the International Foundation for Online Responsibility
(IFFOR). (Here is the org chart.) IFFOR will have a board of
directors comprised of members from several supporting organizations.
These organizations include 1) privacy, security & child advocacy, 2)
free expression, 3) online adult-entertainment and board members
selected through a nomination committee system similar to ICANN. No
one constituency can capture the board and all have a say. There will
be an Ombudsman. The organization has demonstrated strong support
from all of the constituencies and also the credit card industry. A
portion of all of the revenue from domain names will go to a fund
that a Grant Advisory Committee will use to support child advocacy.
Credit card companies are working with the legitimate adult sites to
create incentives for them to switch to .XXX.
ICANN has been mandated with trying to increase the TLD space and
the .XXX proposal, in my opinion, has met the criteria set out in the
RFP. Our approval of .XXX is a decision based on whether .XXX met the
criteria and does not endorse or condone any particular type of
content or moral belief. This is not the role of ICANN. I realize
that some will view this as ICANN endorsing pornography on the
Internet, but this is not the case.
There are people who are concerned about censorship and control.
These are issues that have been raised, but I think the .XXX proposal
is more about creating incentives for legitimate adult entertainment
sites to come together and fight "bad actors" and is not focused on
forcing people to use the .XXX domain.
Some people have argued that there has not been enough public debate,
but we have been taking public comments for quite a while. We DO read
them and have encouraged people to discuss their issues with us
through the process. I believe we followed a rigorous process. We
started with an RFP and over the last 15 months, we have had
independent evaluators, numerous meetings, public discussion and
public comments.
I think Brett Fausett summarized the situation well on his blog.
> The decision on .XXX may be one of the most difficult ICANN has
> ever made, and you can expect ICANN to be criticized whatever it
> decides. I imagine that many of the countries participating in the
> GAC aren't ready to be part of a decision that will endorse a space
> for pr0n on the Internet. The fact that .XXX could be a political
> hook on which the governments of the world could hang Internet
> zoning laws could make the decision more palatable, but it's still
> a political minefield for ICANN. Again, I hope the proposal is
> accepted, but it's going to take a great deal of courage to do that.
I think any decision would have had strong critics. I believe we have
made the best decision possible considering all of the issues
involved. Having said that staff are now negotiating the contract. If
anyone has any thoughts that we should consider in negotiating the
contract I would be happy to hear them. Staff are working hard to
produce a contract that ensures that the TLD functions as advertised.
===== End forwarded message =====
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