Fed: Federal govt opposes adult internet domain

AAP General News (Australia)
04-15-2006
Fed: Federal govt opposes adult internet domain

SYDNEY, April 15 AAP - The federal government has written to the international internet
domain name body to protest against moves by a United States company to establish the
adult content domain .xxx.

A Florida-based company has applied to set up the .xxx internet address, saying it
would make it easier to identify and block adult sites, which may currently use .com or
.net.

But Communications Minister Helen Coonan opposes the idea, saying it will increase
the availability of pornography while offering no new protection for children, Fairfax
newspapers reported today.

The government was also concerned .xxx could become a money-making scheme - with prominent
people having to buy their own names to prevent them becoming the names of adult sites.

Senator Coonan has written to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
asking for it to delay its decision on .xxx until there was better evidence of its benefits.

"I am yet to be convinced that there are any real benefits from the creation of this
domain that would outweigh the risk of legitimising this offensive material," Senator
Coonan told Fairfax.

AAP nr/lb

KEYWORD: DOMAIN

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