Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know

A bill proposed by two US congressmen this week provides for the introduction of a .kids domain extension in an attempt to create a safe internet space for children. If the proposal is adopted by the US government, then the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) may be forced to create the new domain.

The .kids proposal was suggested last November when ICANN agreed to create seven new generic top-level domains including .biz, .info and .museum. At that time the .kids option was dismissed on the recommendation of ICANN officials who felt that it would not be possible to assure users that no inappropriate materials would be posted on web sites with the .kids extension.

Rep. John Shimkus and Rep. Ed Markey the congressmen behind the bill hope that it will be considered by the House Telecommunications subcommittee. However, it is likely to remain a controversial issue given the serious internet monitoring obligations that would be created by a .kids domain.

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