In December of 2011, we blogged about the approval of the .xxx TLD (top-level domain) and discussed issues related to how these sites are categorized and how legitimate companies could avoid having their reputation damaged through an .xxx registration.

Under the banner "The Evolution of Online Responsibility," ICM Registry, the company behind .xxx, is now trying to establish .sex, .porn, and .adult to expand its online offerings. A company spokesman says it is prepared to battle for other sex-related TLDs in order to protect its turf, citing the firm's security and trademark protection practices, as well as its zero-tolerance policy toward child sex abuse.

The company's position is that .xxx is "designed specifically for the global adult entertainment industry as a trusted brand, globally recognized and extolling responsible and safe behavior," because "the website operators is [sic] operating under self regulatory, published guidelines and policies." In addition, they argue that using TLDs exclusively for "adult entertainment" - including the three proposed new TLDs - helps ensure that users who don't wish to see such material can avoid it.

This is part of a major expansion in TLDs. Despite a number of glitches in the process, ICANN has reportedly received more than 1,900 proposals for new domain names and will reveal the list in a press conference on June 13.

It's important to note that online pornography will not be limited ONLY to these TLDs. 

Today, you can keep up with the ICANN announcement by following the ICANN Reveal Day.

Websense is following the evolution of TLDs in order to ensure coverage for our customers, and our security solutions are protecting them with ACE, our Advanced Classification Engine.