Adult industry self-regulatory body sets up shop in Toronto in preparation for new TLD

A new self-regulatory body for the online adult entertainment industry has been given its Canadian incorporation papers as it sponsors a new top-level domain (TLD), .xxx. The body, the International Foundation for Online Responsibility (IFFOR), has been set up as a not-for-profit organization to establish regulations by which companies that apply for the .xxx TLD must abide. The group responsible for creating new TLDs hasn’t yet blessed the .xxx domain, which would be run by an American company, ICM Registry. An attempt was made in 2000 by ICM founder Jason Hendeles to create the TLD, but the Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) was prepared to create only a few new domains - including .museum and six others - to expand the original .com, .org, .gov and .net domains. Now, ICANN has determined that further expansion can be done, and ICM registry has applied to create the adult domain. The foundation has been set up to be run by a multi-stakeholder board of directors that would include members from privacy, security and child advocacy organizations, the online adult entertainment sector, and free speech advocates. Stuart Lawley, who is one of the foundation’s interim directors, tells Canadian NEW MEDIA that those groups haven’t yet been invited to participate, pending actual approval by ICANN of the TLD. Lawley is listed as a director along with Hendeles, Stuart Duncan, and Len Bayles, and he says Tim Denton is also on the board on an interim basis. If and when the domain is created, IFFOR will set the policies and requirements that must be met by companies wishing to register a .xxx domain. Lawley explains that he and ICM have no direct ties to the adult industry, which makes it an attractive proposition for ICANN and potential registrants alike. "ICM is not in the adult business. It has no ties or connections. And, obviously, the foundation won’t either, which I think the adult industry likes and respects because, like any industry, if Bill and Bob - the two dominant players - decide to get a trade organization together, no one else wants to join it. This is arm’s length. It’s not Larry Flynt of Hustler or Hugh Hefner of Playboy." ICM is now in the process of soliciting support for its ICANN application. Not everyone in the industry, however, believes a .xxx domain is a good idea. Last summer, members at the annual general meeting of the U.S.-based Free Speech Coalition (FSC) - a lobby group for the adult industry - was split on the issue. Many in the porn industry worry that the existence of a specific TLD could lead to mandatory use of it by X-rated businesses. Lawley says the divisions aren’t worrisome, and that the FSC’s approximately 900 members are largely drawn from the non-digital world - books, magazines, sex clubs, and similar businesses. He says some 60 of the FSC’s members have already signed a letter of support for ICM’s registry application. He adds that the law is likely on the side of those who would keep the government’s hands out of mandating a separate domain for porn sites. Not only do ICM’s lawyers tell them the First Amendment wouldn’t allow such a move, but even if implemented it would have limited impact. "The U.S. government has jurisdiction only in the U.S. The Internet is a global medium. Literally, if the American government did try to do that, then all they’d be doing is encouraging subversive behaviour and sending people offshore, out of their control. Rather than a stick approach, this is more of a carrot approach." While ICM Registry has been headquartered in the U.S. to take advantage of First Amendment protection, Lawley says the IFFOR will be run in Toronto where Hendeles has his most significant ties. There is no guarantee that ICANN will create the requested TLD in the next few months, but Lawley says creating the foundation may increase the odds of success. "Ultimately, we are saying that this sponsoring organization can fulfil the needs of the defined community, the online adult industry. That’s all it needs to do. But, with the greatest respect, I don’t think that most people in the world probably want the adult industry to set up its own guidelines. So, we reached out to child protection groups, to the privacy and security groups…I think that the adult top-level domain can be viewed as a controversial and difficult decision for anyone to make and to look at. We’ve gone out of our way to try and think of all the questions and all the points of view that everybody could raise to come up with a rational approach like this."

Adult industry self-regulatory body sets up shop in Toronto in preparation for new TLD

Broadcast | April 16, 2004

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