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.xxx (pronounced "dot triple- ecks" or "dot ecks ecks ecks") is a
sponsored top-level domain A sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) is one of the categories of top-level domains (TLDs) maintained by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) for use in the Domain Name System of the Internet, alongside country-code top-level domains (ccTLD ...
(sTLD) intended as a voluntary option for pornographic sites on the Internet. The sponsoring organization is the International Foundation for Online Responsibility (IFFOR). The registry is operated by ICM Registry LLC. The
ICANN The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN ) is a global multistakeholder group and nonprofit organization headquartered in the United States responsible for coordinating the maintenance and procedures of several dat ...
Board voted to approve the sTLD on 18 March 2011. It went into operation on 15 April 2011. The TLD entered its sunrise period on 7 September 2011 at 16:00 UTC; the sunrise period ended 28 October 2011. Landrush period lasted from 8 November through 25 November, and general availability commenced on 6 December 2011.


Background

A
gTLD Generic top-level domains (gTLDs) are one of the categories of top-level domains (TLDs) maintained by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) for use in the Domain Name System of the Internet. A top-level domain is the last level of ev ...
(generic top-level domain) for sexually explicit material was proposed as one tool for dealing with the conflict between those who wish to provide and access such material through the Internet, and those who wish to prevent access to it, either by children and
adolescents Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with ...
, or by employees at their workplaces. Advocates of the idea argue that it will be easier for parents and employers to block the entire TLD, rather than using more complex and error-prone content-based filtering, without imposing any restrictions on those who wish to access it. Editors of explicit content sites, however, were afraid that the use of a single TLD like .xxx would also make it easier for search engines to block all of their content. Critics of the idea argue that because there is no requirement for providers of explicit content to use the TLD, sexually explicit material will still be commonplace in other domains, making it ineffectual at restricting access, and simply creating a new "landrush" as registrants of .com domains hosting explicit material attempt to duplicate their registrations in the .xxx domain, competing with operators who hope to register desirable names unavailable in other TLDs. There is also concern that the existence of .xxx will lead to legislation making its use ''mandatory'' for sexually explicit material, leading to legal conflicts over the definition of "sexually explicit", free speech rights, and jurisdiction. There were also early indications that .xxx domain names will be registered not with the intent to focus on pornographic content, but to use the adult connotations as a benefit to a marketing strategy. An example is the registration of kite.xxx, which is aimed at the
extreme sport Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are physical activity, activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk of injury or death. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly speci ...
of
kitesurfing Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, snow, sand, or other surface. It combines the aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snow ...
, thus benefiting from sexual connotations and innuendo for humor and promotional purposes. Another example of a .xxx domain name being registered without a focus on pornographic content was the registration of popebenedict.xxx, which contained pro-Islamic content despite being named after
Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...
.


Proposal by ICM Registry

The .XXX TLD was first proposed in 2000 by ICM Registry and resubmitted in 2004, but it faced strong opposition from politicians and conservative groups. ICANN announced on 1 June 2005 a preliminary approval of .xxx as an sTLD similar to .aero, .travel, etc. ICM said it would charge $60/year for domains. In December 2005, discussions about the implementation of .xxx were taken off the agenda of ICANN Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), placing its future in doubt. In its March 2006 meeting, the GAC formulated a letter of concern to the ICANN board about .xxx. On 10 May 2006, ICANN reversed the approval. On 6 January 2007, ICANN put up for public comment a revised proposal following changes to the policy of the ICM registry including the policing of any site that signs up to use the .xxx registry. On 30 March 2007, the ICANN board again rejected the .xxx proposal for the third time. On 6 June 2008, in accordance with ICANN bylaws, ICM filed an application with the International Centre for Dispute Resolution for an independent review challenging ICANN's decision. The filing became ICDR Case No. 50 117 T 00224 08, and in September 2009, a live hearing was held in
Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
, where both sides submitted documentary evidence and witness testimony. On 19 February 2010, the ICDR's independent review panel – consisting of Stephen M. Schwebel, Jan Paulsson and Dickran Tevrizian – issued its declaration. The panel found that the application for the ".XXX sTLD met the required sponsorship criteria", and that "the Board's reconsideration of that finding was not consistent with the application of neutral, objective and fair documented policy". At the ICANN meeting in
Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...
in March 2010 the board resolved to consider "process options". A 45-day public comment was opened on 26 March 2010. At the Brussels ICANN meeting in June 2010, the ICANN board resolved to restart the process, including renewed due diligence and GAC consultations. On 18 March 2011, ICANN's board approved the execution of the registry agreement with ICM for the .xxx sponsored top level domain. The vote was nine in favor, four against, with three abstentions. ICM is expected to make over $200 million a year, with 3 to 5 million domain registrations, as companies are anticipated to defensively register their domains.


Opposition


Manwin suits

On 16 November 2011, Manwin International, a pornography company that operates a large number of popular adult websites including
YouPorn YouPorn is a free pornographic video-sharing website owned by Aylo that launched in August 2006. Ownership YouPorn's own site reports that its owner is Midstream Media International N.V., seated in Willemstad, the capital city of Curaçao, ...
, filed a request for a second ICANN Independent Review Proceeding. In the request, Manwin asks that the .xxx delegation be voided, or, if not, put up to competition on renewal. On the same day Manwin, together with adult film studio
Digital Playground Digital Playground Inc. is an American independent pornographic film studio, headquartered in Burbank, California. It has been called one of the five biggest porn studios and, in 2006, was described by Reuters as one of the handful of studios th ...
, filed a suit in the Central District of California against ICM alleging
antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...
and
competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...
violations. Among the claims in the suit are that ICANN provided "no competitive process for the award of the .XXX registry contract" and that ICM CEO Stuart Lawley "has announced that he expects to be able (and intends) to prevent the establishment of any other (potentially competing) adult-content TLDs, including through a contractual promise by ICANN not to approve such TLDs". On 14 August 2012, Judge Philip S. Gutierrez granted in part and denied in part ICANN's motion to dismiss Manwin's claims and allowed the case against ICANN to move forward. On 10 May 2013, the case was voluntarily dismissed by the parties, likely due to private settlement.


Free Speech Coalition

The
Free Speech Coalition The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) is a non-profit industry trade group, trade association of the sex industry in the United States. Founded in 1991, it opposes the passage and enforcement of obscenity laws and many censorship laws (with the excep ...
opposed the domain, arguing it would "harm the adult entertainment business" by inviting censorship and blocking, while raising money for ICM without considering the "best interests of the industry".


Alternative implementations

Starting in 2005, there was an alternative implementation of .xxx by New.net, a private domain registration service unaffiliated with ICANN, via an
alternative DNS root The Internet uses the Domain Name System (DNS) to associate numeric computer IP addresses with human-readable names. The top level of the domain name hierarchy, the DNS root, contains the top-level domains that appear as the suffixes of all Intern ...
. New.net no longer offers domain names under this unofficial TLD. Another unofficial .xxx TLD was previously available through the alternative DNS root system administered by the now-defunct AlterNIC.


References

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External links


IANA: whois information

W3C: Why Using TLDs for Filtering is Ineffective, Harmful, and Unnecessary



ICANN: 18 March 2011 Draft Rationale for Approving Registry Agreement with ICM's for .XXX sTLD

ICANN: Chronological History of ICM's Involvement with ICANN

Global Arbitration Review: Panel makes internet history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xxx Internet properties established in 2011 Erotica and pornography websites Sponsored top-level domains Top-level domains