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Interference by U.S. seen in vote on .xxx domain
Reuters
THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2006
BRUSSELS The Internet governing body's decision to reject a .xxx Internet domain for pornographic sites is a clear case of U.S. political interference in the Web's governance, the European Commission charged on Thursday.
The board of the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers, known as Icann, on Wednesday voted 9- to-5 to dismiss the application to register the domain name, which would have been like the .com or .net at the end of an Internet address.
Supporters said a .xxx domain would have made it easier to confine sex sites or filter them out, but U.S. critics like the Family Research Council, a conservative religious group, complained that it would only legitimize the adult entertainment industry.
Many adult-oriented sites also objected, fearing that such a domain would pave the way to filter speech. A trade group, the Free Speech Coalition, said a domain for child-friendly sites would be more appropriate.
"We see here a first clear case of political interference in Icann," said Martin Selmayr, a spokesman for Viviane Reding, the European commissioner for information society and media. He said correspondence between Icann and the U.S. Department of Commerce highlighted the "interference."
Selmayr said the decision underscored the need to make Icann independent quickly, following unsuccessful demands last year by the EU and other countries to achieve that goal.
Icann, a nonprofit group based in California, cannot make changes to the domain-name system without the approval of the U.S. Commerce Department.
Selmayr urged further steps to complete the privatization of Icann this year to release it from the oversight of the Department of Commerce.
Icann said in a statement on Wednesday that its discussion had focused on issues like sponsorship, compliance and public policy concerns.
The .xxx application was seen as a test case of Icann's independence.
At a summit meeting in Tunis last November, the United States fought off attempts to wrest control of the domain-name system from the Commerce Department.
The U.S. government's control of the domain-name system had become a sticking point for countries like Iran and Brazil, who argued that it should be managed by the United Nations or another global body. The United States said that such a body would stifle innovation with red tape.
Separately, Icann approved the creation of a .tel domain to help people manage their contact information online. The domain could be in use as early as this year. $@
BRUSSELS The Internet governing body's decision to reject a .xxx Internet domain for pornographic sites is a clear case of U.S. political interference in the Web's governance, the European Commission charged on Thursday.
The board of the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers, known as Icann, on Wednesday voted 9- to-5 to dismiss the application to register the domain name, which would have been like the .com or .net at the end of an Internet address.
Supporters said a .xxx domain would have made it easier to confine sex sites or filter them out, but U.S. critics like the Family Research Council, a conservative religious group, complained that it would only legitimize the adult entertainment industry.
Many adult-oriented sites also objected, fearing that such a domain would pave the way to filter speech. A trade group, the Free Speech Coalition, said a domain for child-friendly sites would be more appropriate.
"We see here a first clear case of political interference in Icann," said Martin Selmayr, a spokesman for Viviane Reding, the European commissioner for information society and media. He said correspondence between Icann and the U.S. Department of Commerce highlighted the "interference."
Selmayr said the decision underscored the need to make Icann independent quickly, following unsuccessful demands last year by the EU and other countries to achieve that goal.
Icann, a nonprofit group based in California, cannot make changes to the domain-name system without the approval of the U.S. Commerce Department.
Selmayr urged further steps to complete the privatization of Icann this year to release it from the oversight of the Department of Commerce.
Icann said in a statement on Wednesday that its discussion had focused on issues like sponsorship, compliance and public policy concerns.
The .xxx application was seen as a test case of Icann's independence.
At a summit meeting in Tunis last November, the United States fought off attempts to wrest control of the domain-name system from the Commerce Department.
The U.S. government's control of the domain-name system had become a sticking point for countries like Iran and Brazil, who argued that it should be managed by the United Nations or another global body. The United States said that such a body would stifle innovation with red tape.
Separately, Icann approved the creation of a .tel domain to help people manage their contact information online. The domain could be in use as early as this year.
jag
