The .cat domain is intended to provide a home for those promoting Catalan culture, history and language, and was approved without difficulty by ICANN on Friday.
But it appears that ICANN, the body responsible for the internet’s domain name system, has come under pressure regarding .xxx. The US Commerce Department and governments around the world have expressed discomfort at .xxx domain.
ICANN first considered and refused an application for the .xxx suffix five years ago. But in June 2005 it gave preliminary approval for the adults-only label to the ICM Registry.
Final approval was expected in August but it has not been forthcoming.
ICANN and the ICM Registry initially agreed to delay the decision for a month, giving the Registry time to allay the concerns; but when the issue came up for discussion again on Friday, the decision was postponed again.
According to the ICM Registry, the delay relates to “specific questions about provisions to prevent scenarios whereby there could be significant changes in ownership and changes in the definition of the sTLD [sponsored Top Level Domain] community”. The Board is apparently concerned that this may require contract changes.
“We are encouraged by the Board's focus on the contract, and quite confident that their questions can be fully and easily resolved. We look forward to working with ICANN to do so immediately,” said the Registry in a statement.
