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.
