Understanding the .XXX Domain Name And How to Protect Children Online
There were two interesting announcements today. First the Attorney General of Connecticut announced a bill requiring social networking sites to check ages (1). Second, led by Morality in Media, Inc’s (MIM) President, Robert Peters, thirty-three pro-decency organizations and individuals have sent a letter to the Department of Commerce opposing a revised proposal to create a Triple-X domain name for pornographic web sites on the Internet.(2)
I am personally against the adoption of a .XXX domain name and the use of social networking sites by minors worries me, however much is misunderstood about how to solve these problems. In this blog entry I will once again make the case that…
The best way to stop children from accessing pornography online is to make laws requiring adult websites to get credit card information before allowing access to adult materials AND to outlaw “free samples” of adult content online.
Free Adult Content
There are thousands of adult web sites that allow free access to adult content with nothing more than the click of a mouse. This free material is designed to lure prospective users to pay for an account but it also makes it very easy for children to access that free adult material. Free samples of adult content online should be stopped.
Credit card companies don’t give out credit cards to children under 15 unless their parents specifically arrange for it, so barring illegal activity, requiring a credit card before allowing access to adult content would be the most effective way to reduce access to that adult content by minors.
Again, don’t get me wrong. I am opposed to the adoption of a .XXX Internet domain name. It appalls me when I see statements by IFFOR and ICM that they are trying to “safeguard children”, but both approaches in today’s news miss the mark. Let me explain…
This is a Worldwide Issue and More Than the DOC Are Involved
First, regarding MIM’s letter to the Department of Commerce, The DOC will eventually NOT be in charge of the Internet. Calls are being made around the world for the US to relinquish its control of the root servers and the US is already resigned to eventually doing that. .XXX was a rallying point for governments and standards bodies around the world to prove that the US had too much of a stronghold on the Internet and those calls for a new, unbiased, global body to make decisions on how the Internet grows are being heeded slowly but surely. (3)
At this point in time, decisions about the future of the Internet are being made by an obscure but powerful and quasi private organization called ICANN. ICANN holds at least 3 to 5 meetings annually around the world and their charter is to bring the Internet to governments and people around the world. Their meetings are free to attend (besides travel and accommodations) and they are open to anyone. There are representatives and working groups for governments, business, domain registries and registrars, free speech, Academia, and of course plenty of attorneys and lobbyists. What is conspicuously absent is a lobby or working group that protects the interests of families and children. They just aren’t there and their interests are being ignored.
I say that all of these signatories need to plan for and form a lobby to ICANN whose primary mission is to carry forward the causes of families and children online. The Internet is too important to ignore if we are to protect our families and children. This is a cultural war and will be lost unless we make our needs known and it is being played in a worldwide arena. The DOC is only one front. The bigger front is now being ignored.
We Need to Focus on the Real Problems, Not Broad Hopeless Agendas
Now on to the Attorney General in Connecticut; although I share his concerns, I know three things. 1.) Implementing this type of law will be almost impossible. 2.) Even if they figure out a way to implement it, the law will never be enforced except in cases where it is too late. 3.) I personally think laws like this will cripple nascent online businesses.
The bottom line is it tries to go too far. For social networking sites, the best approach is comprehensive public awareness campaigns. And surely if adult content is being shown on sites that are meant for very young people that should be illegal. The problem is that the companies that build social networking sites generally are not the ones that place the content online. And so content that appears on social networking sites are more a reflection of society than a reflection of the company that built the social networking infrastructure. I just don’t see how we can monitor the ages of kids under 16 online effectively, but we know that kids under 16 don’t get credit cards that easily.
Finally I want to acknowledge that I know there are no full proof solutions and that even with great laws in place the Internet is global in nature so offshore providers often scoff at our laws, but we still need to take stands on issues that affect our children and we need to work with and lobby other governments around the world and ICANN to help us find creative and effective solutions.
References:
2. Bill to Protect Children by the Connecticut Attorney General
3. Calls to Pull Control of the Internet From the US Department of Commerce