The Debate Over .XXX

Vote on '.xxx' Internet address nears By ANICK JESDANUN, AP Internet Writer
Fri Mar 23, 6:31 PM ET



NEW YORK - Online pornographers and religious groups are in a rare alliance as a key Internet oversight agency nears a decision on creating a virtual red-light district through a ".xxx" Internet address. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which has already rejected similar proposals twice since 2000, planned to vote as early as next week on whether to approve the domain name for voluntary use by porn sites.

ADVERTISEMENT

The decision ultimately could hinge on whether ".xxx" has the support of the adult-entertainment industry — and many porn sites have been strongly opposed.

"One of the criteria is that it (must) have general support among the industry it's supposed to serve, and it does not," said Mark Kernes, a board member with the industry trade group Free Speech Coalition. "I have not met one single webmaster or adult video producer that is in favor of `.xxx,' and I've met a lot of them."

Porn sites are largely concerned that the domain name, while billed as voluntary, would make it easier for governments to later mandate its use and "essentially ghettoize sexual information on the Web," Kernes said.

ICM Registry Inc., the company behind the proposal, has vowed to fight any government efforts to compel its use and cited preregistrations of some 76,000 names as evidence of support. Kernes said many Web sites reserved names simply to prevent someone else from having it.

The Free Speech Coalition believes a domain name for kids-friendly sites would be more appropriate.

Given its voluntary nature, ".xxx" is unlikely to have much effect on parents' ability to block porn sites.

And because a domain name serves merely as an easy-to-remember moniker for a site's actual numeric Internet address, even if a government were to mandate its use, a child could simply punch in the numeric address of any blocked ".xxx" name.

Religious groups worry that ".xxx" would legitimize and expand the number of adults sites, which more than a third of U.S. Internet users visit each month, according to comScore Media Metrix. The Web site measurement firm said 4 percent of all Web traffic and 2 percent of all time spent Web surfing involved an adult site.

"They will keep their `.com' domains, and I have no doubt they will buy their `.xxx' as well," said Patrick Trueman, special counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian public-interest law firm. "There will be twice as much pornography on the Internet."

Trueman and other critics say ICM will be the only beneficiaries.

The startup, founded and funded by four entrepreneurs with backgrounds in domain names and U.K. Internet companies, plans to charge $60 to register a name — 10 times the fees for ".com." Ten dollars of it would go to a companion nonprofit group that would set policies for ".xxx" use and recommend business practices for combating child pornography and promoting child safety.

ICANN tabled and effectively rejected a similar proposal in 2000 out of fear the ".xxx" domain would force the body into content regulation.

ICM resubmitted its proposal in 2004, this time structuring it with a policy-setting organization to free ICANN of that task. But many board members worried that the language of the proposed contract was vague and could kick the task back to ICANN. The board rejected the 2004 proposal last May.

ICANN revived the proposal in January after ICM agreed to hire independent organizations to monitor porn sites' compliance with the new rules, which would be developed by a separate body called the International Foundation for Online Responsibility.

ICM revised it again a month later to clarify ICANN's enforcement abilities and to underscore the independence of the policy-making body.

Despite the vocal opposition, ICM Chairman Stuart Lawley said he preferred a quick vote, adding that the complaints come from "the same people saying the same things time and time again."

"ICM has done more to demonstrate the existence of a strong community than any other application the (ICANN) board has approved," Lawley said. "We have been singled out for special treatment. From the word `go,' ... we were put in the slow lane."

If approved, ICM would be required to help develop mechanisms for promoting child safety and preventing child pornography, and porn sites using ".xxx" would have to participate in a self-rating system, labeling sites based on such criteria as the presence of nudity and whether it is in an artistic or educational context.

ICANN already has discussed the proposal during three, closed-door teleconference meetings this year. It indicated it would be ready to vote at a public meeting next Friday in Lisbon, Portugal.

But delays are possible if ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee raises last-minute objections when it meets next week. Last March, the committee called for stronger language in ICANN's contract with ICM, and Lawley said those points have been addressed in the latest version of the contract.

ICM believes the domain would help the porn industry clean up its act, and Lawley said he has gone through great lengths to put its promises into writing.

"We are confident we have dotted every `i' and crossed every 't,'" he said, "and the contract deserves ratification."

Email Story IM Story Printable View (What happened to the "Discuss" option?) RECOMMEND THIS STORY
Recommend It:

Average (41 votes)
» Recommended Stories
Full Coverage: Internet and WWW
Off the Wires
Judge hits Vonage with injunction Reuters, Fri Mar 23, 7:21 PM ET TV Guide to offer Web video search tool AP, Fri Mar 23, 6:35 PM ET Feature Articles
Bloggers: alternative voices on housing risks at The Los Angeles Times (reg. req'd), Mar 24 Online Firms Boot Up for Political Campaigns at The Washington Post (reg. req'd), Mar 17 News Stories
Court Rejects Law Limiting Online Pornography at The New York Times (reg. req'd), Mar 23 News Corp., NBC pull together to challenge YouTube at The Los Angeles Times (reg. req'd), Mar 22 Opinion & Editorials
The case against YouTube at The Los Angeles Times (reg. req'd), Mar 20 Wikipedia's sticky wicket The Christian Science Monitor via Yahoo! News, Mar 09
Technology News
Mom donates laptops to wounded soldiers AP TV Guide to offer Web video search tool AP Questions on `.xxx' bid and domain names AP European Web sites go for long addresses AP Vonage Ordered To Stop Using Verizon VoIP Technology NewsFactor Most Viewed - Technology
Wii game console bowling over U.S. retirees Reuters Nintendo Wii Led the Pack in February NewsFactor Judge hits Vonage with injunction Reuters Mom donates laptops to wounded soldiers AP eBay software bargains and pitfalls Reuters
Technology & Health Video
Racing for the Environment ABC News - Fri Mar 23, 11:03 PM ET New Switch for Traditional Light Bulbs ABC News - Fri Mar 23, 10:04 PM ET Tech Buzz: Cablevision loses suit on network DVR AP - Fri Mar 23, 2:53 PM ET Tech Buzz: NBC, News Corp. Take on You Tube AP - Fri Mar 23, 2:33 PM ET

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070323/ap_on_hi_te/internet_pornography

Web Addict Dies From Surfing OD

Online addict dies after "marathon" session
Tue Feb 27, 11:44 PM ET
BEIJING (Reuters) - An obese 26-year-old man in northeastern China died after a "marathon" online gaming session over the Lunar New Year holiday, state media said on Wednesday.
The 150-kg (330-lb) man from Jinzhou, in Liaoning province, collapsed on Saturday, the last day of the holiday, after spending "almost all" of the seven-day break playing online games, the China Daily said, citing his parents.
Xu Yan, a local teacher, said the "dull life" during the holiday prompted many people to turn to computer games for entertainment.
"There are only two options. TV or computer. What else can I do in the holiday as all markets, KTV and cafeterias are shut down?" the paper quoted Xu as saying.
China has seen an alarming rise in the number of teenage and young adult Internet addicts in recent years, despite attempts to restrict minors from cybercafes and limit online game playing times.
About 2.6 million -- or 13 percent -- of China's 20 million Internet users under 18 are classed as addicts, state media have reported. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070228/wr_nm/china_internet_addiction_dc;_ylt=AuBZqykCn3oLe1VkfZv09Xdk24cA

MySpace Trackers Gave in

NY youths in plea deal in MySpace case
By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent Mon Feb 26, 11:40 PM ET
LOS ANGELES - Two New York men accused of trying to extort $150,000 from MySpace.com by developing code that tracked visitors pleaded no contest Monday to illegal computer access in a bargain with the prosecution.
Two counts of attempted extortion and another illegal computer access count were dropped in the deal, which gave the defendants three years probation. Each had faced up to nearly four years in prison.
Shaun Harrison, 19, and Saverio Mondelli, 20, of Suffolk County, N.Y., were accused of demanding the money as a "consulting fee" from the News Corp. subsidiary. The pair were offering the code on their own Web site for $29.95 and claimed to be developing an unbreakable version. MySpace had blocked the existing version after it was discovered.
The popular MySpace social-networking site — where people create elaborate profiles and personalize them with photos, music and video — is supposed to offer anonymity to visitors who browse the pages.
But Harrison and Mondelli's program collected e-mail addresses and Internet Protocol addresses, prosecutors said. Such information could have been used by stalkers trying to locate MySpace users, said Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey A. McGrath.
The men sold access to several versions of the code to computer users, who could then apply it to their own MySpace profiles. That type of traffic monitoring violates MySpace's rules.
The men boasted they had around 85,000 registered users of their tracking program, but investigators have not determined how much information users were able to cull, McGrath said.
The plea bargain, also agreed to by Paul L. Gabbert, attorney for the young men, severely restricts their access to computers, limits them to one e-mail address each, and requires they do 160 hours of community service and pay MySpace $13,500 in restitution.
Superior Court Commissioner Kristi Lousteau told the defendants that if they violate their agreement they could go to prison. She said they will be subject to search of their computers at any time and they may not access MySpace.com directly or indirectly.
The defendants stood before the commissioner and acknowledged the terms of the agreement, but neither spoke other than to answer "yes."
Outside court, Gabbert said that the agreement came from "the recognition that they are young and made a mistake and to give them a second chance."
He said they set up their business right out of high school, are going to college and "they will continue to be creative and not transgress the law."
McGrath said the young men, who were extremely proficient in the Web multimedia program Flash, were discovered by the operators of MySpace and were sent a "cease and desist" order by e-mail.
The pair sent a reply saying, "We will neither cease nor desist" and announced on their Web site that they were developing an even more sophisticated system that would soon be for sale, prosecutors said.
The problem for MySpace was that the pair's identities were not known because they were operating under pseudonyms.
The prosecution said the company then began "quasi negotiations" with the two. They were arrested last May when they flew to Los Angeles to collect the $150,000 but actually met with undercover
Secret Service' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> Secret Service and district attorney's investigators, prosecutors said.
Hemanshu Nigam, chief security officer for MySpace, said the site is committed to protecting users.
"We are pleased with outcome of this case and hope that it sends a message to anyone thinking about causing harm to the MySpace community," Nigam said in an e-mail statement.
McGrath said there are other companies offering similar services on the Internet and that MySpace is constantly trying to shut them down.
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
(What happened to the "Discuss" option?)
RECOMMEND THIS STORY

Recommend It:
Average (70 votes)

» Recommended Stories
Technology News
Nokia-Qualcomm proceedings halted AP
Court upholds Calif. stem cell agency AP
Stanford gets $33 million donation AP
Students confess UNC breakup was staged AP
Online addict dies after "marathon" session Reuters
Most Viewed - Technology
Online addict dies after "marathon" session Reuters
Microsoft says Google success a "wake-up call" Reuters
Students confess UNC breakup was staged AP
Stanford gets $33 million donation AP
Sony expects to resolve PS3 shortages by May Reuters
Technology & Health Video
Uganda Chimpanzees CNN - Tue Feb 27, 5:36 PM ET
Egypt opts out of 'Wonders' list CNN - Tue Feb 27, 11:36 AM ET
Apple TV launch delayed until March AP - Tue Feb 27, 10:40 AM ET
Listen closely: Big Brother is watching AP - Tue Feb 27, 9:48 AM ET

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070227/ap_on_hi_te/myspace_hacking