India First Nation To Block New .XXX Domain

The Inteet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), recently approved the creation of a \".xxx\" domain for poographic websites. Religious groups and even poographers have taken issue with the assignation, and nations are now taking a stand, as well.

India has become the first country to block URLs ending in .xxx. The distribution of poography is illegal in India and elsewhere, and other countries may follow India's lead.

\"India along with many other countries from the Middle East and Indonesia opposed the grant of the domain in the first place, and we would proceed to block the whole domain, as it goes against the IT Act and Indian laws,\" said a senior official at the ministry of IT, according to the Economic Times. \"Though some people have said that segregation is better, and some countries allow it. But for other nations transmission and direct distribution of such content goes against their moral and culture.\"

Poographers and free speech activists have already voiced conces that the .xxx suffix will allow authorities to winnow out adult content more easily.

The Next Web contacted cyber lawyer and author of \"The Fundamental Right to the Inteet,\" Vivek Sood, who pointed out that poography can still be hosted on .com and .in domains in India.

Indeed, the application process for a .xxx domain is voluntary.

Sites seeking to join will be subjected to a set of standards that prohibit child poography, among other restrictions, and protect consumers against Malware, TechSpot reports. The new domains will also cost as much as $50 dollars more per year than traditional domains, according to the AP.

[via Gizmodo]