An article by Carlos Ramos-Mrosovsky & Joseph Barillari in the US National Review pretty well summarizes the Republican rethoric about the UN and WSIS. First off, one would think of this article as a sarcastic joke. It’s not.

Here’s what  we would have to fear. ICANN would disappear. Domain name registration fees would skyrocket to subsidize connectivity in the less developed countries.  Undemocratic countries will impose censorship on the worldwide Internet. Increase America’s vulnerability to online security threats (we don’t care about the others, right ?).  Pretty frightening perspective indeed.

As is common with US comments on the UN activities, it points fingers at  those countries considered supporters of terrorism and dictatorial regimes. Even Europe gets its share because closing Nazi propaganda web sites is considered harmful from the US point of view. I was not aware I am living under an intolerant regime. Thanks guys for reminding me.

Of course, it does not mention the fact that the USG abuses its power on ICANN to enforce its moral values by delaying .XXX. This looks strange from the country which is so proud of the freedom of speech guaranteed through the First Amendment to its Constitution. Nazis, yes. Sex, no. Make war, not love. Or did I get it wrong ?

For what it’s worth, I do not believe .XXX is a moral issue. Its existence will neither diminish the number of porn sites, nor will make the Net safer for kids. "whatever.XXX" will just be an DNS alias for  " whatever.com".