Why I’m Not Excited About a New .xxx TLD

I’m not really a fan of new TLDs. Mostly, I see them increasingly irrelevant, so they generate a fair amount of activity but little benefit. As a result, not surprisingly, I am not excited about a .xxx TLD. Indeed, not only am I unenthusiastic, I have some serious concerns about its implications. Given how Congress hates Internet porn, it seems almost inevitable that Congress will mandate that pornographers set up shop only under a .xxx SLD, leading us back to the age-old conundrum of what constitutes pornography and launching yet another multi-round Constitutional challenge.

Meanwhile, Internet News ran a good story recapping the development of .xxx. However, I’m surprised the article did not directly reference Congress’ last attempt to zone the Internet, the .kids.us debacle–which I think can only be characterized as a complete and utter failure and a waste of Congress’ time.

UPDATE: The AP Story is also good. Declan reaches the same conclusion I do, and provides some good background.

Indeed, Rep. Pence of Indiana is proposing to create a “dot-porn” TLD to create exactly the zoning problem we fear with .xxx. (Warning–the UPI article is shockingly slanted!) The idea of segregating porn into its own TLD is a bad meme that just won’t die!