The domain industry might crumble if the Unites States Congress gets more involved in domain name policy.
I’ve seen a lot of scary things that could knock the domain name industry off its upward trajectory. But this takes the cake. According to an article from the Associated Press:
“Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., is crafting [a] legislative package that would require the Department of Commerce to create the new [.xxx] domain name. Pornographic Web sites would be required to abandon their “.com” addresses, ideally consolidating them all in one Internet neighborhood.”
This is not a decision in which the US government should have a hand. That’s why ICANN was set up–to handle policy. The notion of taking away a .com domain name from its rightful owner is shameful and anti-American — contrary to the values of the United States. It’s called property rights. Furthermore, the US Congress has no control over what happens outside the US, so it would just mean companies moving their servers offshore. I think the Commerce Department would have to change the charter of ICANN to make this a worldwide policy. I wonder if Sen. Baucus realizes that his policy would cause offshoring of internet servers.
This is a slippery slope. Can you imagine where this could lead? Look, I don’t operate adult sites. But this issue is about so much more than that. Please contact Sen. Max Baucus and tell him how asinine this idea is.
You can submit a comment to Baucus via his web site here. Or call, write, or fax to his office in Washington D.C.:
Sen. Max Baucus
511 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-2651
(202) 224-0515 (Fax)
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