[LINK] .xxx xxx'd

[Roger Clarke]

[On 30 March, the ICANN Board rejected the further revised proposal 
for a .xxx domain.

[The dangerous aspect is that the Government Advisory Committee (GAC) 
- i.e. national Governments - played a large role in the matter (and 
that's acknowledged by the Minutes).

[The concern is that GAC may flex its muscles on other, more 
important matters.]


http://www.icann.org/minutes/resolutions-30mar07.htm#_Toc36876524

... the Board has determined that:
*   ICM's Application and the Revised Agreement fail to meet, among 
other things, the Sponsored Community criteria of the RFP 
specification.
*   Based on the extensive public comment and from the GAC's 
communiqués that this agreement raises public policy issues.
*   Approval of the ICM Application and Revised Agreement is not 
appropriate as they do not resolve the issues raised in the GAC 
Communiqués, and ICM's response does not address the GAC's concern 
for offensive content, and similarly avoids the GAC's concern for the 
protection of vulnerable members of the community. The Board does not 
believe these public policy concerns can be credibly resolved with 
the mechanisms proposed by the applicant.
*   The ICM Application raises significant law enforcement compliance 
issues because of countries' varying laws relating to content and 
practices that define the nature of the application, therefore 
obligating ICANN to acquire a responsibility related to content and 
conduct.
*   The Board agrees with the reference in the GAC communiqué from 
Lisbon, that under the Revised Agreement, there are credible 
scenarios that lead to circumstances in which ICANN would be forced 
to assume an ongoing management and oversight role regarding Internet 
content, which is inconsistent with its technical mandate.

Accordingly, it is resolved (07.__) that the Proposed Agreement with 
ICM concerning the .XXX sTLD is rejected and the application request 
for a delegation of the .XXX sTLD is hereby denied.

-- 
Roger Clarke                  http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/
			            
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
                    Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/

Visiting Professor in Info Science & Eng  Australian National University
Visiting Professor in the eCommerce Program      University of Hong Kong
Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW