The Free Speech Association
1
reports
that ICANN is
re-considering the creation of the .xxx domain.
As I've
said before, I don't much care
whether .xxx gets created or not, but it's worth checking out
the
proposed terms, which include all kinds of obligations
for the operator to enforce content restrictions,
including:
Registry Operator will prohibit child pornography, including practices that appeal to pedophiles or suggest the presence of child pornography on the site.
This seems pretty vague. The definition of what child pornography is
varies quite a bit depending on which country (and even within states
in the US). What set of rules are to be applied? Even within the
set of things which clearly aren't child pornography, what does
"practices that appeal to pedophiles". Does that include
"barely-legal" type material?" If it turns out that pedophiles like
kittens, will
cuteoverload.xxx be out of bounds?
Registry Operator/IFFOR will impose and enforce best practices obligations
including standards to:
a. Prohibit misuse of personal information
b. Require accurate meta-tagging
c. Ensure clear and accurate consumer disclosures
d. Protect IP rights
e. Prohibit use of malicious codes and technologies (i.e. spoofing)
f. Prohibit fraudulent, anonymous, or unsolicited commercial emails
g. Prohibit use of malicious redialers, credit card fraud, and/or
unauthenticated use of credit cards
Section (d) is particularly interesting. If I use my .xxx domain name
to download stuff from
then ICM might take away my .xxx domain name?
3. Registry Operator will (i) promote the principles set forth in the
United Nations Declaration of Human Rights related to free expression
and (ii) prohibit child pornography as defined in the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child ("UNCRC")
For references, here's what the UNDHR says about free expression:
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this
right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to
seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and
regardless of frontiers.
What exactly is ICM expected to do to promote these principles? Give
money to the ACLU?
The whole thing is pretty long on principles and short on
details.Not really surprising, since that's a pretty good
description otf the notion that you can divide the Internet into adult
content on one side and non-adult on the other.
1 The trade association of the adult film
industry. Nice euphemism, eh?
