Time For A .xxx Internet Domain?

From Findlaw.com Modern Practice - Time For A .xxx Internet Domain?

Let’s face it -- adult content, including explicit sexual pornography, runs rampant on the Internet. Internet users can implement specific searches looking for such content, and normally they will find what they are looking for. Other times, people inadvertently will stumble onto such explicit content when searching for something else; indeed, a domain name may give one the impression that the site is suitable for a general audience of all ages, only to turn out that it displays graphic sexual content that is inappropriate for minors or adults not wishing to view such content. So, what to do?

One proposed concept has been a .xxx Internet domain for sexually-oriented Web sites. Just like .com is designed for businesses, .gov for government, and .edu for educational institutions, the idea behind .xxx is that there would be a specific domain name category for adult Web sites with sexual content. In that way, an Internet user easily could judge, based on seeing a .xxx domain name, whether the user truly wanted to visit such a site to view adult content, or if the user wanted to avoid visiting and seeing such content.

Of course, this is a real concern. The ease of obtaining pornography on the internet has always been the justification for a number of legislative proposals, some of which were found unconstitutional. I have no problems with rules that limit the access of minors to pornographic matieral, but I draw the line at any law that bans the activity. If we call something pornographic, even if it isn't really, we can use that label to justify any activity.

But this proposal is a little different. It will not prohibit pornography any more than current laws, but serves as a regulatory device to accomplish both a filtering technique for concerned parents, and free up domain names in the .com realm.

But, of course there are critics:

The proposal has had its share of critics. Some of them claim that a .xxx domain would provide legitimacy to the pornography industry. Supporters claim that a .xxx domain would make it easier for people to filter out content they do not want.

I fully believe that a .xxx domain will make filtering a lot easier and quite frankly easier to enforce. If you are engaged in adult entertainment and you use the web to distribute it, you must use a .xxx domain. If you don't you are subject to fines, etc.

But the concept of denying this regulation because you fear legitimizing the porn industry is simply ludicrous. Wake up and smell the sex lube!!! The porn industry is a legitimate multi-billion dollar industry employing hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people who pay taxes, vote, and contribute to the economy. Porn is not going away--thankfully, and it is a real business.

Instead of burying our heads in the sand and hoping porn goes away, we should find ways as adults, who have a duty to protect and educate our children, to limit their access to adult material on the web. The .xxx domain will help us do that, while still allowing the business and its consumers to continue doing what they do, as is their right.