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By
David McGuire,
Newsbytes Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 24, 2001; 5:20
PM
A pair of
lawmakers today said they would not have introduced
legislation mandating the creation of a ".kids"
Internet domain if Internet addressing authorities had
been more responsive to the needs of the online public.
"We would not be here
today if the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers (ICANN) had worked to create such a domain,"
Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., told reporters in a press
conference unveiling the "Dot Kids Domain Name Act of
2001."
"They (ICANN) had
their opportunity. They failed and I'm not willing to wait
on them any longer," added Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill.,
who is co-sponsoring the bill with Markey.
Should Congress pass the
Shimkus-Markey bill, the U.S. Department of Commerce would
impel ICANN to include .kids alongside .com, .net and .org
in the Internet's worldwide addressing system.
Although the not-for-profit
ICANN autonomously manages the global Domain Name System
(DNS), it does so under a contract with the U.S.
Government, which still must approve major ICANN
decisions.
Many in the international
community have decried the U.S. government's continued
control over ICANN, but Shimkus and Markey today rejected
the notion that their legislation could undercut ICANN's
global reputation.
"I believe we are
helping ICANN," Markey said. "This bill is going
to help (ICANN create) a democratic, transparent process
by which domains are selected."
In congressional hearings
earlier this year, Shimkus, Markey and other lawmakers
asked ICANN officials why they did not approve the
creation of a .kids domain at their Los Angeles board
meeting last year.
In November 2000, ICANN
approved the creation of seven new generic top-level
domains (gTLDs) - .aero, .biz, .coop, .info, .museum,
.name and .pro. Two of those domains - .biz and .info -
were officially ensconced in the DNS last month, becoming
the first new gTLDs created since the advent of .com, .net
and .org more than a decade ago.
Although the creation of a
.kids domain was proposed in advance of the November 2000
ICANN meeting, ICANN officials eventually scuttled the
idea - opting to approve domain proposals that were
considered less controversial.
"This has been
considered before and it was shot down because it was
problematic," ICANN spokesperson Mary Hewitt said
today. Hewitt called the .kids proposal a
"noble" idea, but said that it raised too many
concerns to make a viable domain.
Shimkus and Markey today
called the ICANN selection process subjective and accused
ICANN of being "cavalier" in its decision not to
approve a .kids domain.
Markey said that a .kids
domain could serve as an Internet "playground"
where parents could allow their kids to surf without
having to worry about them coming into contact with
inappropriate content.
Under the legislation, the
.kids domain would be overseen by an independent board
that would draw on input from "family groups and
international organizations interested in the
Internet" to determine what sort of content should be
allowed in the domain.
The notion of creating a
.kids domain has received strong support from pro-family
groups. Advocates of a .kids domain say that it avoids the
free speech concerns that would accompany the creation of
a ".xxx" or ".sex" domain, which has
also been forwarded as a way to segregate so-called
"harmful-to-minors" content online.
But despite that support,
the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) Commission - a blue
ribbon panel charged by Congress with finding ways to
protect children online - declined to recommend the
creation of a .kids domain in its report to Congress last
year.
While they acknowledged the
appeal of such an approach, many of the COPA commissioners
noted that a .kids domain raised difficult issues
regarding kids' privacy and the international nature of
the Internet.
Opponents of a .kids domain
argue that what constitutes harmful-to-minors material
varies greatly from one country to another. They also
contend that "kids" is an English-centric usage,
not understood in many other nations.
Markey is the ranking
Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee's
Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee, and said he
would urge Subcommittee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., to
hold hearings on the bill.
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