.sexy

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Status:	Active
Type:	Generic
Category:	Lifestyle
Priority #:	373 - Uniregistry, Corp.

.sexy is an active gTLD that was proposed in ICANN's New gTLD Program. Uniregistry manages the TLD as its Registry and was the sole applicant. The proposed application succeeded and was delegated to the Root Zone on 14 November, 2013.

Objection

Saudi Arabia's Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) filed an objection against the TLD.

European Commission Communiqué

The European Commission flagged the application for .bio outside of ICANN's defined remediation processes.

Just after ICANN's GAC issued its Early Warnings, which are advice given from one GAC member country to an applicant warning it of potential issues within its application, the European Commission issued a letter to all applicants within the new gTLD program. The letter highlights 58 applications that "could raise issues of compatibility with the existing legislation .. and/or with policy positions and objectives of the European Union." It notes a desire to open a dialogue with each offending applicant.

The Commission specifically notes that this objection is not a part of the GAC Early Warning process, and goes on to note that "the Commission does not consider itself legally bound to [ICANN] processes," given that there is not legal agreement between the two bodies.

.sx

The .sx Registry submitted a formal String Confusion objection against the string, though it later asked that its objection be withdrawn.

Independent Objector

The Independent Objector is responsible for determining if a new gTLD application is in the best interest of the Internet community. If not, he or she will file formal objections against a new gTLD application. Alain Pellet, a law professor from the University of Paris and a former member of the United Nations International Law Commission and International Court of Justice, was chosen by ICANN to serve as the sole independent objector for the New gTLD Program in May, 2012. The position was created by ICANN in accordance with the implementation of the New gTLD Program. As defined, the IO may be an individual or organization and must not be affiliated with any applicant and must carry out their responsibility without bias.

In December 2012 Mr. Pellet released his first correspondence on actual TLDs, commenting on so-called "Controversial strings". Those strings include: .adult, .sex, .porn, .sexy, .hot, .gay, .lgbt, .persiangulf, .vodka, and .wtf. A string seemed to have been deemed "controversial" by Mr. Pellet if it received a substantial amount of objections during the public comment period. He addresses each TLD separately and at length, noting the objection, and turning to International law and precedent to determine whether an objection from his point of view, of defending the public interest, is warranted. In each case he concludes that the objections are not supported by international law and that regional, cultural, and personal issues influence the objections rather than broadly accepted treaties, laws, or international cultural trends. He has reserved the right to later object to the strings, but at that time it was deemed that the "controversial strings" are in fact not offensive to the greater public interest and Internet users.

With regards to .sexy, and the other sex related applications, the Independent Objector notes that most all objections raise concerns about greater space created for pornographic material, and cite moral, religious, or cultural issues with this fact. Mr. Pellet notes that there is no singular international consensus on the morality of pornographic material and it is one decided by local governments with regards to domestic perceptions and cultural and moral norms. He goes on to note that the creation of a .adult TLD could have the effect of clearly labeling pornographic material, thereby making it easier for offended people to avoid or block such content. He notes that the only widely accepted international norm and treaties on the matter that overlap specifically address the harm or exploitation of children, including with regards to sexual or pornographic scenarios. However, he notes that there is no reason to believe that the creation of a .adult TLD will make it easier to disseminate material that offends in this regard, and it could even prove to more closely regulate pornography and potentially offensive material.

Contract Signed

On Sept 11, 2013 Uniregistry received a Registry Agreeement signed by ICANN for .sexy after passing the Initial Evaluation.

Delegation

.sexy was delegated to the Root Zone of the DNS on November 14, 2013, completing the successful application for the string. Uniregistry had its first 2 applicants delegated on that day, including this application and .tattoo.

Sunrise

The Registry announced that their Sunrise Period for the string would begin 11 December 2013 and end on 09 February 2014.

Acceptable Use Policy

Uniregistry published their Acceptable Use Policy for the .sexy TLD in January of 2014. The policy states, among other things, that domain names registered under the .sexy TLD shall not contain sexual content or nudity on the front page of the website. This requires .sexy sites with adult content to implement a porn-free front page with age verification, which is already considered good practice for porn websites.