GoDaddy likely to win relaxed .xxx deal

GoDaddy seems set to get a renewed and relaxed .xxx registry contract, after ICANN dismissed the concerns of critics of the deal.

In a much-delayed analysis of submissions to a recent public comment period, Org indicated that it is in favor of GoDaddy, via subsidiary ICM Registry, migrating to a Registry Agreement much more in line with sister gTLDs .porn, .adult and .sex.

That would mean an end to the “sponsored” status of .xxx, removing the largely pointless restrictions and streamlining the registration process, and the dissolution of IFFOR, the nominal sponsor, which was criticized by one commenter as a toothless “gravy train”.

Only nine comments were received, and views were mixed, but where commenters were critical of the proposed deal ICANN has stood firm.

Notably, Org dismissed the idea that a public comment period on a Registry Agreement renewal is an appropriate forum to question whether a signatory to that Registry Agreement has historically complied with its terms.

At least two commenters had raised issues, some of which I have reported, about whether ICM had stuck to promises related to funding IFFOR and whether IFFOR had stuck to promises to issue cash grants to worthy causes.

Commenters also said that ICM has already stopped verifying the identities of registrants in its made-up “sponsored community”, which would have enabled it to more easily tackle repeatedly abusive registrants.

But ICANN doesn’t think that kind of thing — which it files under “Misconceptions, assumptions, and allegations and claims” — is suitable for discussion in Public Comments.

“If there are concerns regarding ICM’s compliance with the .XXX RA, such concerns (if any) should be raised with ICANN Compliance for investigation and are considered outside of the scope of this Public Comment proceeding,” the analysis reads.

There’s also no need to replace ICM’s sponsorship commitments with Public Interest Commitments along the lines of those found in most post-2012 gTLDs, according to the Org analysis.

“ICANN has not identified a need to add further, new obligations for the operation of .XXX or to treat .XXX differently than other adult-themed gTLDs, particularly in light of the similar PICs that the .ADULT, .PORN, and .SEX gTLDs have utilized for approximately the last decade,” it reads.

The .xxx agreement was due to expire in early 2021, but its term has been repeatedly extended as negotiations continued behind the scenes. Likewise, the public comment analysis was originally due to be published in late May but was repeatedly delayed.

It’s now up to ICANN’s board of directors, which has already been briefed on the analysis contents, to approve the renegotiated deal.

Tagged: godaddy, ICANN, icm registry, xxx