ICANN’s odd .xxx move

The debut of a long-delayed .xxx domain may be delayed indefinitely now that ICANN has seemingly reversed itself on the issue.

Vint Cerf stunned nerds worldwide earlier this week at an ICANN meeting when he announced that the .xxx issue had been pulled from the agenda – and it had been the first item up for discussion.

Cerf said the committee in charge of the proposal had to first review an ICANN report on the domain’s feasibility, but The Register says that excuse is a “red herring.”

“However, if rumours are to be believed, ICANN took a top-level decision to release the report and so provide a delay excuse, after EU commissioner Viviane Reding called the head of ICANN Paul Twomey direct and threatened to withdraw all the EU’s representatives unless the issue was pulled. Twomey this morning denied he had had any communication with Reding over the issue,” writes El Reg.

Up until Cerf’s agenda move, everyone (including ICANN) was in favor of the adult domain, save for Brazil and the U.S.

More intrigue here.

Via The Register