The top-level domain (TLD) “.sex” is a sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) within the Internet’s domain name system. Such a TLD serves as a category of domain names and exists in the Domain Name System of the Internet. It was introduced by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and is maintained by the ICM Registry.
As per Whois XML API, one of the world’s largest whois database services, the “.sex” TLD is overseen by ICM Registry, the same organization supervising the “.xxx”, “.adult” and “.porn” TLDs. These TLDs were launched in 2014 with the aim to cater to the adult entertainment industry, allowing businesses, professionals, and entities in this sector to indicate the nature of their websites’ content in the URL itself.
It is important to note that anyone can register a “.sex” domain—it’s not confined to adult entertainment. In many cases, entities outside of the adult entertainment industry purchase .sex domains to protect their brand from potential misuse. For example, as reported by the BBC, in 2014, universities such as Yale and Cambridge bought .xxx and .sex domain names to prevent others from creating websites that could potentially damage their brand’s reputation.
Like any other TLDs, buying a “.sex” domain requires the usual registration process: availability checking, application with a domain registrar (like GoDaddy, Namecheap, and others), payment of registration fees, and a re-occurring renewal fees.
As for the question of exclusivity, the adult industry does not own the exclusive rights to this TLD; it is available to the public, similar to .com, .net, or .org. This also applies to other adult-oriented TLDs, including .adult, .xxx, and .porn.
In terms of the potential implications of owning a .sex domain, Search Engine Journal notes that where domains were initially neutral descriptions of the content category, they now carry associative search implications. Google’s John Mueller stated that TLDs do not directly impact a website’s search engine ranking. However, because a TLD can describe a website’s content or geographic area, it can indirectly affect search engine perception. Therefore, a .sex TLD could theoretically affect the way search engines rank a site.
Sources used:
1. Whois XML API (https://main.whoisxmlapi.com/)
2. BBC (https://www.bbc.com/news/business-33379539)
3. Search Engine Journal (https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-explains-how-top-level-domains-affect-search-results/370313/)
4. ICM Registry (https://icmregistry.com/)
5. Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) (https://www.icann.org/)
