Internet Rating Systems

Over the past decade, parents groups, the government, and the Internet industry have grappled with the issue of protecting children from inappropriate Web content while still preserving the free speech rights of website authors. Many advocate active parental guidance and Internet self-regulation over government intervention. One organization supporting self-regulation over government legislation is the Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA). An international nonprofit organization based in the United Kingdom, ICRA's goal is to create a safer Internet while preserving the free speech rights of those on the Web.

Under its content rating system, ICRA does not rate websites but rather provides a vocabulary for website authors to rate their own content. To rate a website, an author completes a questionnaire that addresses each of ICRA's six broad vocabulary categories: nudity, sexual content, violence, language, user-generated content, and other harmful content. Once a questionnaire is completed, the website author is provided with a content label to electronically attach to the website. The label does not appear on the website but rather is embedded in the site's HTML code, where it can easily be read by a web browser or Internet filtering program.

Parents then employ a Web browser or Internet filter to read the content labels. ICRA provides a free Internet filter, although many Web browsers can also read and filter ICRA's content labels. Using the same vocabulary categories provided to website authors, parents select labels for content they will and will not allow their children to view. Once set, a filter or Web browser blocks websites that do not contain the acceptable content labels.

Financially supported by corporate members and by grants from the European Union, ICRA offers its rating service to website authors and parents for free. In 2005, ICRA reported that approximately 100,000 websites had been labeled, including Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL. Alternatives to ICRA include Safe Surf, another rating system, as well as Internet filter services like CyberPatrol and NetNanny, which compile lists of blocked websites.

The practice of Internet content rating has drawn some criticism. Critics fear that content rating systems may be used to censor controversial speech. They also argue that organizations may not be able to meet the demands of self-rating their websites. If a website does not contain a ratings label, its content could be filtered out simply for being unrated. Others question the ability of Web authors to effectively rate their own content. Finally, the overall effectiveness of ICRA has been questioned due to the slow adoption rate of content labels by website authors.