.sex

Overview

• .sex is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) introduced under ICANN's New gTLD Program.
• Intended for use by the adult entertainment community.
• The string was delegated to the DNS Root Zone on 18 April 2015.

History

• Applicant and operator: ICM Registry, the operator behind the .xxx gTLD, submitted the successful application for .sex.
• Delegation: The .sex gTLD was delegated to the Root Zone on 18 April 2015.
• Competing applicant: Internet Marketing Solutions Ltd was a previous applicant; in July 2014 that company withdrew after a private deal with ICM Registry, leaving ICM as the sole applicant.
• Policy context: The application and broader set of adult-related strings drew public commentary and review during the New gTLD evaluation processes.

Usage and Audience

• Primary audience: websites and services in the adult entertainment sector.
• Transition for .xxx holders: ICM Registry stated that existing .xxx registrants would be grandfathered with matching names reserved under .sex; owners could activate reserved names for a nominal fee.

Registration Rules

• Intended eligibility: targeted to the adult entertainment community (as stated by the applicant/operator).
• Grandfathering/reservations: matching names from the .xxx registry were to be reserved and grandfathered for .xxx owners, with a nominal charge to activate those .sex domains.

SEO and Brand Impact

• Public perception: the string has been controversial due to its explicit association with adult content; advocacy groups and some national regulators objected on moral and cultural grounds.
• Independent review: the Independent Objector for the New gTLD Program examined objections to .sex and related strings and concluded that objections were not supported by international law, noting that a dedicated adult TLD could also make it easier to label, block, or otherwise manage access to adult content.

Notable Cases or Examples

• Operator: ICM Registry (also operator of .xxx) and its CEO Stuart Lawley were publicly associated with the application and the grandfathering proposal for .xxx registrants.
• Private settlement: ICM Registry reached a private deal with Internet Marketing Solutions Ltd in July 2014 that resulted in the latter withdrawing its application for .sex, leaving ICM as the sole applicant.
• Objections and campaigns: groups such as Morality In Media launched campaigns opposing .sex (and related adult TLDs), and at least one national regulator (Saudi Arabia's CITC) filed objections on grounds related to proliferation of pornographic material.

% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object

domain:       SEX

organisation: ICM Registry SX LLC
address:      100 S. Mill Ave, Suite 1600
address:      Tempe AZ 85281
address:      United States of America (the)

contact:      administrative
name:         IANA Contact
organisation: GoDaddy Registry
address:      100 S. Mill Ave, Suite 1600
address:      Tempe AZ 85281
address:      United States of America (the)
phone:        +1 480-505-8800
fax-no:       +1 480-624-2546
e-mail:       iana@registry.godaddy

contact:      technical
name:         IANA Contact
organisation: GoDaddy Registry
address:      100 S. Mill Ave, Suite 1600
address:      Tempe AZ 85281
address:      United States of America (the)
phone:        +1 480-505-8800
fax-no:       +1 480-624-2546
e-mail:       iana@registry.godaddy

nserver:      A.NIC.SEX 2001:dcd:1:0:0:0:0:10 37.209.192.10
nserver:      B.NIC.SEX 2001:dcd:2:0:0:0:0:10 37.209.194.10
nserver:      C.NIC.SEX 2001:dcd:3:0:0:0:0:10 37.209.196.10
nserver:      X.NIC.SEX 156.154.172.82 2610:a1:1074:0:0:0:1:82
nserver:      Y.NIC.SEX 156.154.173.82 2610:a1:1075:0:0:0:1:82
nserver:      Z.NIC.SEX 156.154.174.82 2610:a1:1076:0:0:0:1:82
ds-rdata:     27487 8 2 e7625e71a6bc32bf10d612ba2d17e02e62641a5293100a82f389ca415cc71bfc

whois:        whois.nic.sex

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: http://nic.sex

created:      2015-04-09
changed:      2024-04-17
source:       IANA