March 30, 201115 yr Active Members India First Nation To Block New .XXX Domain The Huffington Post Catharine Smith First Posted: 03/29/11 08:47 AM ET Updated: 03/29/11 08:47 AM ET The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), recently approved the creation of a ".xxx" domain for pornographic websites. Religious groups and even pornographers have taken issue with the assignation, and nations are now taking a stand, as well. India has become the first country to block URLs ending in .xxx. The distribution of pornography is illegal in India and elsewhere, and other countries may follow India's lead. "India along with many other countries from the Middle East and Indonesia opposed the grant of the domain in the first place, and we would proceed to block the whole domain, as it goes against the IT Act and Indian laws," said a senior official at the ministry of IT, according to the Economic Times. "Though some people have said that segregation is better, and some countries allow it. But for other nations transmission and direct distribution of such content goes against their moral and culture." Pornographers and free speech activists have already voiced concerns that the .xxx suffix will allow authorities to winnow out adult content more easily. The Next Web contacted cyber lawyer and author of "The Fundamental Right to the Internet," Vivek Sood, who pointed out that pornography can still be hosted on .com and .in domains in India. Indeed, the application process for a .xxx domain is voluntary. Sites seeking to join will be subjected to a set of standards that prohibit child pornography, among other restrictions, and protect consumers against Malware, TechSpot reports. The new domains will also cost as much as $50 dollars more per year than traditional domains, according to the AP. See original article at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/29/xxx-domain-blocked-india_n_841839.html?ir=World
March 30, 201115 yr Active Members Ty, what puzzles me is how the bastard that was awarded control of xxx.com got away with charging so much more than the other domains (or whatever you tech guys call it). I will never believe that money is not changing hands for that little boondoggle. This stinks worse than the site selection committee for the Olympics.
March 30, 201115 yr Author Active Members Maybe I have been looking at this all wrong. Maybe this is a good thing if lots of other countries jump on this bandwagon. That will certainly discourage entrepreneurs from acquiring .xxx domains thus killing it in the cradle. Attempts to force sites to the .xxx domains could then be argued that such force restricts freedom of speech. While many governments could care less, the Western governments would be under pressure if they attempted pressure on site owners. ICANN might come under pressure too. It's a hope anyway.
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