The web suffix .xxx will soon go online. It’s meant for adult content sites to use so that parents can block it. But Reuters reports that a lot of big companies are upset that they will have to buy up their own names with a .xxx so that no one else gets to it. So if you own Pepsi.com, you either have to buy up Pepsi.xxx or risk someone else buying it and using your brand, OR wait for them to buy it and go through the legal hassle of getting them to relinquish it, OR you have to buy it back from them when that might have been the cybersquatter’s intention all along. It doesn’t cost much – $200 – but several companies are complaining that its extortion and it’s a hassle.
And here’s a bit from the Reuters article that may trouble you the rest of the day:
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals also signed up. However, instead of blocking its name, said PETA spokeswoman Lindsay Rajt, the organization will launch peta.xxx as a pornography site that draws attention to the plight of animals.
Really?
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
