XXX: A New Frontier for Cybersquatting

July 2005

At first glance, the proposal to create a new cyberspace red light district with the .xxx domain - from domain name selection to site promotion. seems a clear win for legitimate businesses.

The domain, which has been approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers Latest News about Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), could essentially segregate adult-content and pornography, moving it out of the .com realm where the vast majority of legitimate commerce takes place.

However, the arrival of .xxx could also create a new set of headaches for companies with high-profiles and carefully guarded brands and trademarks if so-called cyber-squatters revive the practice of grabbing domain names and essentially holding them hostage -- and with this domain, the threat of real embarrassment from an .xxx Web site using the company's name.

The goal, of course, would be to bring a handsome ransom, and history shows the tactic can work, despite the legal rights that companies bring to the table.

"Let the unseemly cybersquatting begin," said Karen Whitehouse, an ICANN-watcher and author of the Weekend Geek blog. Though intended to make it easier to filter porn sites and keep people, especially children, from stumbling across them by accident, the upshot might be to force people and companies to register domains as a defensive move. "What I envision is people paying $60 a year just to keep beaarthur.xxx out of circulation," Whitehouse said.