Unlike the Bush administration, the Obama White House appears to be mature enough to handle the idea of an adult-specific .xxx domain name suffix.
Yes, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, is expected to approve the controversial domain on Friday, despite objections from sexually repressed politicians and prudish religious groups.
The push for .xxx has also been met with firm opposition from the Free Speech Coalition, a trade organization for the adult entertainment industry, and is routinely criticized by countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Brazil.
Nevertheless, the Obama administration seems to have adopted a strategy of tacit approval, as it has yet to take a public stance on the issue.
When asked about .xxx earlier this week, a Commerce Department spokeswoman said (yes, with a straight face): “It is premature for us to comment at this time.”
If approved, .xxx domains would be managed by ICM and could be up and running by summer 2011.
[Via Politico]
