After struggling for acceptance since 2001, and ultimately being rejected in 2006, the proposal for a net domain for pornography is now revived.

Last year’s rejection by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) was founded upon worries over how the .xxx domain would be policed. The ICM Registry, which backs the .xxx proposal, pledges that it will handle policing of its domain — specifically, ensuring that the member (porn) sites do not send out spam, spyware or computer viruses; and protecting against child pornography.

A specific .xxx domain for pornography would help by allowing parents and employers to block the domain, en masse, from home, schools, work, libraries and other government or public arenas.

Fierce debate still exists, of course. If use of the .xxx domain remains voluntary (as is the current proposal), then having another domain does not solve anything, because all the sites that exist today in the .com/.cc arena will still be there. If transfer of pornographic sites to the .xxx domain is mandatory (i.e., they are prohibited from existing in the .com and .cc domains), then the question is how to determine which sites are affected: Many companies are obvious candidates (Playboy, or any of the numerous ‘adult’ content providers), but sites in the ‘gray zone’ (e.g., lingerie or bathing suit catalogs, or art and photography sites that include artistic nudes) might improperly be required to exist in the .xxx domain, potentially blocking access to a wider audience and to potential consumers.

The famous quote, “I don’t know how to define pornography, but I know it when I see it,” comes back to haunt us. We may know it when we see it — but the task for international lawmakers is to develop a definition that is fair and a policy that is practical and efficacious.

More at the BBC.