The Battle for the .xxx TLD Continues

Although it seemed that ICANN's decision to reject the .xxx domain would end this chapter in the Internet history, the company behind it doesn't want to give up the fight.


ICM Registry is determined to ask ICANN to reconsider the request for the controversial TLD (top-level domain) and to file a complaint against the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC). The company behind the pornographic domain believes the request was rejected because of the involvement by US authorities.

The European Commission accused that ICANN's decision to reject the .xxx domain is a clear case of U.S. political interference in the Web's governance.

The EU executive said the decision underscored the need to make ICANN independent quickly, following unsuccessful demands last year by a group of countries including the EU to make ICANN fully independent.

"We see here a first clear case of political interference in ICANN," said Martin Selmayr, spokesman for EU Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding.

According to the InformationWeek, the U.S. government documents released by ICM Registry reveal a concerted effort by DoC officials to disassociate itself with ICANN in order to sustain administration assertions that ICANN operates autonomously and without political direction.

The documents include a series of E-mail messages directed at media organizations. The messages seek changes in news stories that suggest the Department of Commerce is ultimately responsible for approving the contentious .XXX TLD.