Plans for the proposed Internet domain .xxx, purely for pornography, have been dropped like a hot cake, just days before they were to receive approval.
Vint Cerf, chairman, ICANN, stunned an open meeting of the governmental advisory committee (GAC) in Vancouver, by announcing that the issue had been pulled-off the agenda of the upcoming ICANN Board meeting due to time-constraints. Cerf did not give any indication, as to when the issue was likely to be re-opened…
…The concept behind the .xxx domain, is to provide an area of the internet specifically and exclusively for pornography, that will be self-regulated.
Only pornographers will be allowed to apply for an .xxx domain; they will pay a premium and will be expected to sign-up to best practice rules and guidelines. Further, an independent panel of experts will review these guidelines and find workable compromises.
Consumers will benefit as they will know what to expect by visiting .xxx, and will not be ripped-off by unscrupulous owners of other porn sites. The sex industry stands to gain from a greater number of customers who will feel more comfortable handing over credit card details to a regulated domain.
Of course critics are of the view that .xxx will not have any impact on the amount of pornography on the internet; besides approving such a domain would imply approval of the content therein.
However Lawley counters by saying that pornography will exist on the Internet with or without the .xxx domain, and that by providing a specific domain there will be some element of regulation.
Techtree News Staff
Techtree.com
Analysis:
If there are any who continue to dispute the contention that we are living in an ungodly age, the preceding story should settle the debate once and for all.
Jim Cramer, host of the cable financial television show “Mad Money” is quoted as saying, “Porn is a $57 billion market worldwide with $12 billion of that coming from the U.S. That’s bigger than ABC, NBC and CBS combined” In addition, 19% of Web traffic and 25% of Web searches are pornography-related, he said, and 40 million people in the U.S. regularly visit pornography Web sites. (TheStreet.com)
It seems that for most in our time (the world over), the debate on whether pornography is acceptable has ended. Now it is simply a matter of determining how to best regulate it.
Unfortunately, such a despicable and seedy part of our society has harmed God’s people. Due to the easy access to such lascivious material, many Christians have succumbed to temptation. Souls have been lost and presently are in danger, and lives and families are in tatters. In the midst of an ungodly world, we must always remember God’s call for his people. “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age” (Titus 2:11-12). May God give us the strength to ever live in righteousness before Him.
