ICM Registry

Last updated
ICM Registry LLC
Headquarters Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Website http://icmregistry.com

ICM Registry operates the .xxx (pronounced "dot triple-X") sponsored top-level domain registry, which is designed for pornography. The ICM Registry operates from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. It is owned by Minds + Machines Group Limited. [1]

History

In 2005, the Bush Administration pressured ICANN not to adopt a .xxx because of increasing concerns about the impact of pornography on families and children. [2]

On 18 March 2011, [3] the ICANN Board voted to approve the .xxx sTLD, which later went into operation on 15 April 2011. [4]

On 12 April 2012, the ICM Registry announced their applications for additional sponsored top-level domains .SEX, .PORN and .ADULT. [5] [6]

Related Research Articles

ICANN American nonprofit organization that coordinates several Internet address databases

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is an American multistakeholder group and nonprofit organization responsible for coordinating the maintenance and procedures of several databases related to the namespaces and numerical spaces of the Internet, ensuring the network's stable and secure operation. ICANN performs the actual technical maintenance work of the Central Internet Address pools and DNS root zone registries pursuant to the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) function contract. The contract regarding the IANA stewardship functions between ICANN and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the United States Department of Commerce ended on October 1, 2016, formally transitioning the functions to the global multistakeholder community.

A top-level domain (TLD) is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet after the root domain. The top-level domain names are installed in the root zone of the name space. For all domains in lower levels, it is the last part of the domain name, that is, the last non empty label of a fully qualified domain name. For example, in the domain name www.example.com., the top-level domain is com. Responsibility for management of most top-level domains is delegated to specific organizations by the ICANN an Internet multi-stakeholder community, which operates the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), and is in charge of maintaining the DNS root zone.

Domain name Identification string in the Internet

A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet. Domain names are used in various networking contexts and for application-specific naming and addressing purposes. In general, a domain name identifies a network domain, or it represents an Internet Protocol (IP) resource, such as a personal computer used to access the Internet, a server computer hosting a website, or the web site itself or any other service communicated via the Internet. As of 2017, 330.6 million domain names had been registered.

.org Generic top-level domain

The domain name org is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) of the Domain Name System (DNS) used on the Internet. The name is truncated from organization. It was one of the original domains established in 1985, and has been operated by the Public Interest Registry since 2003. The domain was originally "intended as the miscellaneous TLD for organizations that didn't fit anywhere else." It is commonly used by non-profit organizations, open-source projects, and communities, but is an open domain that can be used by anyone. The number of registered domains in org has increased from fewer than one million in the 1990s, to ten million in 2012, and held steady between ten and eleven million since then.

.xxx Sponsored top-level Internet domain intended for pornographic websites

.xxx is a sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) intended as a voluntary option for pornographic sites on the Internet. The sponsoring organization is the International Foundation for Online Responsibility (IFFOR). The registry is operated by ICM Registry LLC. The ICANN Board voted to approve the sTLD on 18 March 2011. It went into operation on 15 April 2011.

museum is a sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) in the Domain Name System of the Internet used exclusively by museums, museum associations, and individual members of the museum profession, as these groups are defined by the International Council of Museums (ICOM).

A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, sovereign state, or dependent territory identified with a country code. All ASCII ccTLD identifiers are two letters long, and all two-letter top-level domains are ccTLDs.

Generic top-level domains (gTLDs) are one of the categories of top-level domains (TLDs) maintained by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) for use in the Domain Name System of the Internet. A top-level domain is the last level of every fully qualified domain name. They are called generic for historic reasons; initially, they were contrasted with country-specific TLDs in RFC 920.

.co Internet country-code top level domain for Colombia

.co is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) assigned to Colombia.

.pro

The domain name pro is a generic top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet. Its name is derived from professional, indicating its intended use by certified professionals.

A sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) is one of the categories of top-level domains (TLDs) maintained by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) for use in the Domain Name System of the Internet. IANA currently distinguishes 3 groups of top-level domains: country-code top-level domains (ccTLD), generic top-level domains (gTLD) and infrastructure top-level domain.

.mobi Generic top-level Internet domain

The domain name mobi is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) in the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet. Its name is derived from the adjective mobile.

.asia

The top-level domain asia is the officially designated regional domain in the Internet for Asia and the Pacific. It is a sponsored generic top-level-domain (gTLD) operated by the DotAsia Organisation Ltd. The domain is open to companies, individuals and organisations that have a connection to the region. Asia domains can be seen and used by international and Asian businesses; regional conferences and symposiums; as well as Asian artists and celebrities.

.berlin Sponsored top-level domain

.berlin (dotBERLIN) is an approved top level domain (TLD) for the Internet. It is a community-based sponsored top-level domain for Berliners. According to the dotBERLIN Organization, .berlin will allow all Berliners to register their domains under .berlin

.africa Internet TLD for the African Union

.africa is the officially designated top-level domain (TLD) for the African and Pan African communities and users wherever they reside. It is a sponsored generic top-level domain (gTLD) operated by the Registry Africa. The .africa namespace is open to individuals, businesses and organizations around the world. The .africa domains are intended to showcase their brand and commitment to the African continent, establishing a home for Africa-specific products and services, expanding a brand's regional influence and acquiring online real-estate.

.music is a community-based top-level domain name (TLD) operated for the benefit of the global music community. It was one of the most highly contested new gTLDs, with eight applicants in contention.

An internationalized country code top-level domain is a top-level domain in the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet. IDN ccTLDs are specially encoded domain names that are displayed in an end user application, such as a web browser, in their language-native script or alphabet, such as the Arabic alphabet, or a non-alphabetic writing system, such as Chinese characters. IDN ccTLDs are an application of the internationalized domain name system to top-level Internet domains assigned to countries, or independent geographic regions.

DotConnectAfrica Trust (DCA) is an independent non-profit, non-partisan organisation that was founded in 2006. The organization was incorporated in Mauritius with the intention to sponsor, establish and operate the proposed new Top Level Domain (TLD) ".africa". Its main charitable objects are: (a) for the advancement of education in information technology to the African society; and (b) in connection with (a) to provide the African society with a continental Internet domain name to have access to Internet services for the people of Africa as a purpose beneficial to the public in general.

MindGeek is a privately held Canadian company that primarily focuses on pornography. It is owned by Feras Antoon, Bernd Bergmair, David Marmorstein and newly Leonardo DaSilva and operates many popular pornographic websites, including video sharing services Pornhub, RedTube, and YouPorn, as well as adult film production companies Brazzers, Digital Playground, Men.com, Reality Kings, Sean Cody, and WhyNotBi.com, among others. MindGeek is headquartered in Luxembourg, and maintains additional offices in Bucharest, Dublin, London, Los Angeles, and Montreal. A spokesperson for the company stated that they are "one of the top five bandwidth consumption companies in the world".

.gay is a top-level domain name. It was proposed in ICANN's New generic top-level domain (gTLD) Program, and became available to the general public in September 2020. Top Level Design is the domain name registry for the string.

References

  1. Andrew Scott (May 9, 2018). "ICM Registry acquisition 'a major step forward' for Minds + Machines". proactiveinvestors.co.uk.
  2. Declan McCullagh (15 Aug 2005). "Bush administration objects to .xxx domains". CNET. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016.
  3. "Adopted Board Resolutions". ICANN. 18 March 2011. Archived from the original on 23 April 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  4. Kevin Murphy (17 April 2011). "XXX domain names go live". The Register. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  5. ".xxx Operator Applies to ICANN for More Adult Top-Level Domains". ICM Registry. 12 April 2012. Archived from the original on 6 May 2012.
  6. "ICM Registry Applies for More Adult TLDs .SEX, .PORN & .ADULT". xdnet.co.uk. 11 May 2012. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016.