ICANN to vote Friday on .xxx Domain
Contact: Lesley S. Bateman, 813-849-0076 ext 106, Lesley@design4.org
WASHINGTON, March 17, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Morality in Media announced today its strong opposition to the creation of .xxx domain, which ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) will determine by vote on Friday, March 18.
"The establishment of a .xxx domain would increase, not decrease the spread of pornography on the Internet, causing even more harm to children, families and communities, and make ICANN complicit in that harm," said Patrick Trueman, CEO of Morality in Media and former chief of the U.S. Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Criminal Division.
"There is no evidence that the public wants or needs this domain. In fact, each time this idea has been proposed it has been overwhelmingly opposed by the public and governments throughout the world," said Trueman.
Hardcore obscene pornography on the Internet is already a violation of U.S. law. However, the U.S. Department of Justice under U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is not enforcing the law. Trueman said those who argue that the Internet porn problem can be solved by establishing a new .xxx domain and then passing a federal law requiring pornographers to use that domain are mistaken.
"It would not only be unconstitutional to force pornography from the .com domain, but, if the Department of Justice is not prosecuting Internet porn companies now for violating U.S. obscenity laws, it is not going to prosecute such companies for merely locating in the wrong address."
Pornography addiction is rampant, leading to grave social costs that are documented at www.pornharms.com. "A more appropriate goal should be to stop the distribution of this destructive material by prosecuting those responsible for it, not protect pornography through the use of an .xxx domain," said Trueman. "We take this opportunity to urge U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to enforce federal obscenity laws."
About Morality in Media
Morality in Media, Inc., is a national, not-for-profit organization established in 1962 to combat obscenity and uphold decency standards in the media and is leading The War on Illegal Pornography, a coalition of more than seventy national and state groups. For more information visit www.moralityinmedia.org and www.pornharms.com.
