MARINA DEL REY - Citing unprecedented opposition to the establishment of .xxx as a new domain name suffix for pornography sites, the US government has requested that the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) postpone approving the new domain.
Michael D. Gallagher, assistant secretary for communications and information at the Commerce Department, has called on ICANN to "ensure the best interests of the Internet community as a whole are fully considered."
He said the Department of Commerce has received some 6,000 letters and e-mails objecting to the designation of a domain suffix for pornography, expressing concern regarding its impact on families and children.
A final decision on the fate of .xxx will not be taken until September, as ICANN’s board of directors said it would delay a vote until its next meeting on September 15. The move was expected after ICM Registry, the Florida company that would operate .xxx, agreed on August 15 to a month’s delay, saying the additional time would permit it to assuage concerns about the domain.
Approval of the domain name was expected on August 16, 2005, five years after it was first proposed and two months after ICANN gave it preliminary approval.