NewsWhore
05-19-2006, 06:10 PM
Porn domain firm sues US government - Computer Business Review (http://www.cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=BD6901E4-E56C-4CEC-9247-5A908B5D4B30)
ICM Registry LLC, the company behind the proposed .xxx internet porn domain, is to sue two departments of the US government for access to documents it claims show the US pressured ICANN into rejecting the domain.
Advertisement
The Florida-based startup will sue the Department of Commerce and the Department of State to get them to release documents that they redacted when they responded to a Freedom Of Information Act request that ICM filed last year.
The suit is expected to allege that the documents released to ICM so far show that the US "exerted undue political influence on ICANN's consideration of the .xxx domain application", and that the redactions were unlawful under FOIA.
We've seen about 100 pages of these documents, most of them emails sent between staff at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, a branch of Commerce.
The documents we've seen suggest that last summer the NTIA reversed its quiet tolerance of the .xxx application, which was on the way to approval, after lobbying from conservative groups, then set about trying to persuade foreign governments to back its position.
ICM claims the documents show that the US government "solicit[ed] foreign government intervention to achieve DoC's domestic political goals".
One of these goals, the documents suggest, was appeasing the Family Research Council and Focus On The Family, right-wing groups run by radio host James Dobson. Dobson was credited by some with winning the 2004 presidential election for Bush, by bringing out the anti-gay vote.
[/URL] (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/Sxxxyorg?a=j1ab0oPl) [URL=http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/Sxxxyorg?a=jjsoGbks] (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/Sxxxyorg?a=PK6rKdeq)
Link To Original Article (http://feeds.feedburner.com/Sxxxyorg?m=1684)
ICM Registry LLC, the company behind the proposed .xxx internet porn domain, is to sue two departments of the US government for access to documents it claims show the US pressured ICANN into rejecting the domain.
Advertisement
The Florida-based startup will sue the Department of Commerce and the Department of State to get them to release documents that they redacted when they responded to a Freedom Of Information Act request that ICM filed last year.
The suit is expected to allege that the documents released to ICM so far show that the US "exerted undue political influence on ICANN's consideration of the .xxx domain application", and that the redactions were unlawful under FOIA.
We've seen about 100 pages of these documents, most of them emails sent between staff at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, a branch of Commerce.
The documents we've seen suggest that last summer the NTIA reversed its quiet tolerance of the .xxx application, which was on the way to approval, after lobbying from conservative groups, then set about trying to persuade foreign governments to back its position.
ICM claims the documents show that the US government "solicit[ed] foreign government intervention to achieve DoC's domestic political goals".
One of these goals, the documents suggest, was appeasing the Family Research Council and Focus On The Family, right-wing groups run by radio host James Dobson. Dobson was credited by some with winning the 2004 presidential election for Bush, by bringing out the anti-gay vote.
[/URL] (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/Sxxxyorg?a=j1ab0oPl) [URL=http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/Sxxxyorg?a=jjsoGbks] (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/Sxxxyorg?a=PK6rKdeq)
Link To Original Article (http://feeds.feedburner.com/Sxxxyorg?m=1684)