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August 26, 2005
The .XXX Top-Level Domain
There has been a bit of talk about the .XXX top-level domain (TLD) and whether it should be approved. When I got around to writing something, I thought it was stale news, but apparently discussion is making the rounds.
In short, the TLD is meant for, you guessed it, porn. The Bush Administration doesn’t like it because it will create a virtual “red-light” district on the web. There are some concerns that it will legitimize pornography.
I think it’s a good idea, honestly. One, pornography is already legitimized if you are using the strict meaning of that word. There is nothing illegal about it (save some sparse regulations) and, let’s be honest, it’s ingrained into the culture. It doesn’t make it a good thing, but the Supreme Court has made it the law of the land that it gets to stay. Even if US laws were able to stop it, it would still come in from overseas and I don’t think we want a China-like Internet setup with the government censoring what we can see on the web. Pornography is bad for the soul and for that matter even bad for society, but it is up to people who believe that to make the case on an individual basis at this point.
Two, this makes it that much easier to block some porn. Anything that ends in “.xxx” gets denied. Very simple, doesn’t require any new filtering technology or anyone to scour the web to put sites in the filter. If anything, it makes it that much more obvious when someone is looking at porn (a.k.a. your kids) and dealing with it. It would be great if all porn (or at least most) could be kicked to the .xxx TLD, it would make filtering it for those who don’t want it that much easier.
When I was in Milan a few years ago, I was struck by the constant array of “sex shops” in otherwise respectable neighborhoods and essentially pornographic ads on TV (usual telephone commercials, I don’t know why). A red-light district at least lets you know where to avoid if you don’t want to be exposed to it. The same is true for a TLD.
Posted by John Bambenek at August 26, 2005 8:32 AM
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Comments
I have no problem with a .xxx TLD and agree that it's a good idea. Easy to filter and all that.
And while I don't necessarily agree about the "mortal peril" of porn, I don't want my young child inadvertently getting an eyefull either.
Posted by: ken grandlund at August 26, 2005 10:59 AM
I am mostly ambivalent, but leaning towards being against this ... it just seems that it will be more administrative BS that serves no purpose - pr0n sites won't be required to register as .XXX so it won't be a reliable filtering method. Pr0n sites will keep all of their other domains, and add a .XXX as well.
The "red light district" is also not an accurate analogy as a you CAN require those types of stores to ONLY be there. Not so on the Wild, Wild Web.
/TJ
Posted by: TJ at August 26, 2005 7:57 PM
I find pornography demeaning to women and children and noticed that it was used as evidence against Michael Jackson at his trial. Many men regard women as sexual prey and pornography only encourages it, just look at the number of sexual assaults that occur on a normal basis. It also encourages sex outside of marriage that studies have repeatedly shown lead to a higher level of domestic abuse, child abuse, abortion, and dysfunctional families. It makes you wonder why Playboy has sided with the pro-abortion faction. That is why the Supreme Court needs to stop violating the Constitution by making laws and start judging by the law instead of their own ideologies.
Posted by: kerwin at September 1, 2005 6:53 AM
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