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.XXX Websites

The group that doles out web domains may soon be giving out .xxx addresses to pornography sites. Web-based pornography is obviously a huge business. But will this be a Pareto improvement?
It would improve consumers’ welfare if all porn sites were to use the .xxx suffix: Those customers who want to see porn sites could find them even more readily; those who don’t (and parents) could filter them out more easily. I’m not sure porn purveyors would be better off, though: Perhaps they imagine that some potential customers who might otherwise be ensnared into entering porn sites and purchasing wouldn’t find and enter the .xxx sites. If given the choice, will managers of porn sites want to use these domain names? If they believe the ensnarement argument, it would be a bad strategy for them to adopt the .xxx suffix.


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