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.xxx domain won't stem porn web sites

By 
  • July 14, 2010
xxxA new Internet domain exclusively for pornography was approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers in June.

Although some proponents of the domain say this will make it easier for people to block pornographic content, critics say that unless regulations make the .xxx domain a requirement,  explicit content online will grow since people won’t be required to shut down porn sites on other domains.


“The creation of this new domain should be a wake-up call for all parents,” said Michèle Boulva, director of the Catholic Organization for Life and Family. “The last thing we need for the safety and for the sexual health of children and families is more promotion of pornography — this new .xxx domain will only multiply harmful occasions of coming into contact with these destructive web sites.”

Boulva said children and teenagers are getting a pornographic sexual education through the media which will lead them to porn. Too many parents are unaware of their children’s online habits and often ignorant of the “dangers that await them there.”

“We need to guide our children in the correct use of the new technologies so that they use them to search for truth, goodness and beauty,” Boulva said.

Enough is Enough, a Reston, Va.-based non-profit organization for making the Internet safer for children and families, said in a press release that the .xxx domain “marks a significant loss for those concerned about the safety, security and sexual health of children and families.”

“Internet pornography is taking a significant toxic toll on our nation’s children and families; harms are widespread and addictions are skyrocketing — impacting productivity, relational, social and psychological health,” said Donna Rice Hughes, president of Enough is Enough. “Expecting pornographers to voluntarily give up their successful .com addresses and locate solely on the .xxx domain is both foolish and shortsighted.”

ICM Registry, the American company behind the .xxx registry, says it has no affiliation with the adult entertainment industry and plans simply to provide management, supporting infrastructure and back-end functionality. It expects to gain significant revenue from selling each .xxx for $60 but will donate $10 from every sale to the International Foundation for Online Responsibility.

ICM Registry said that it hopes to go live with the .xxx domain in 2011.

The company claims to have 110,000 pre-reservations.
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