Ratings:

Under this approach sites are rated either by the website operators themselves, or by third party rating services. Web browsers or other software follow the PICS (Platform for Internet Content Selection) protocol to read the site ratings, allowing access only to those selected by the parents. Different rating entities, such as RSACi (Recreational Software Advisory Council on the Internet), Net Shepherd and SafeSurf provide different categories to label sites. Parent wishing to use these ratings should familiarize themselves with the different categories, selecting the entity whose categories most closely match their concerns.

RSACi has approximately 45,000 rated web sites, while Net Shepherd ( a commercial rating service) has over 500,000. Collectively, less than 25% of the Web is currently rated, and the number of websites increases daily. Some believe that comprehensive rating will only occur if it becomes mandatory, but there is no consensus on the appropriateness of such a requirement. With approximately 2 million separate websites, the task is huge and coverage is still relatively small.

Specialized search engines :

Many search engines, in order to avoid the problems noted above, have created special search engines for special communities. While this is first being applied to child friendly content, such as Yahooligans! (Yahoo's! Child friendly search engine) and Digital Altavista's and Net Shepherd's new family search engine, some community special interest groups are using this technology to create lists of pre-screened sites for their members that match their special needs and search criteria.

Reviewed and recommended content :

Similar to the special pre-screened search engines are specially-compiled lists of reviewed and recommended sites. These sites are examined, along with links from those sites, and given a seal of approval by community or private groups, rather like a movie reviewed by a favorite movie reviewer. Users learn to trust the judgment of certain reviewers and certain brand names. Jean Armour Polly's The Internet Kids and Family Yellow Pages (1997, Osborne-McGraw-Hill) is a good example of reviewed and recommended content. Both brand-name content and other pre-screened sites need to be constantly monitored to ensure that the selected sites continue to meet their selection criteria. Such lists also have no "barrier" to impede links to less worthwhile sites (although parental controls and filtering software can restrict access to all but selected sites).

Closed systems and communities

Closed systems and closed online areas are designed to be consistent in the nature and quality of their content. Closed systems can be provided by the OSPs (such as Kids Only on AOL), by brand-name sites (such as Disney Blast), or by other free-access sites (such as Bonus.com). On such sites the parent can be sure that the content is prescreened and all interaction supervised.

Codes of ethical conduct and responsible commercial activity

This area is just beginning to come into focus, and is a direction being taken in other Western countries. Some access providers (such as AOL and Erol's Internet Service) have made efforts to remove from their servers Usenet newsgroups which carry child pornography. MSN has restricted access to Usenet newsgroups which contain illegal content and promote hacking and software piracy activities. Many online services and ISPs have carefully enforced terms of service policies, which prohibit the use of certain language, restrict certain activities (including use of offensive language or sexual content) and otherwise regulate online behavior.

Since these are contractual arrangements with their members as a condition to being given an account with the provider, rather than government activity, free speech issues are not applicable. Other steps which ISPs could take - in addition to providing the option of server-level filtering - could include terms-of-service policies forbidding the use of their service to post child pornography or hard-core pornography or to sexually solicit children; not knowingly hosting illegal material; and removing clearly illegal and obscene material which is brought to their attention.

The industry's technology and codes of conduct can lead to market-driven solutions to enable access to valuable content and communications based on individual values and to enable service and content providers, and others, to create family-friendly environments.

C - Schools and Libraries

The parent's actions in the home, through direct involvement and the "digital toolbox," affect only one source of Internet access. The other primary sources of Internet access for children are the schools and libraries. A 1996 study reported that nearly 30 percent of U.S. public libraries were connected to the Internet and the number today is probably closer to 40-45%. Similarly, President Clinton is committed to all children being online in the schools by the year 2000; a commitment shared by members of the Internet industry who are actively involved in wiring schools.

Libraries

Historically, libraries have been constrained in their materials selection by limited funds and limited shelving. Libraries have also based material purchases on carefully drafted selection policies. The Internet is outside these selection policies in many libraries. The Internet gives access to materials not commonly found in public libraries, ranging from expensive reference works to illegal pornography. While many libraries report no problems with this approach, others have detailed incidents where materials accessed and printed have caused serious concern to patrons or employees.

Although installation of filtering software might seem to be a simple solution, there is no consensus in the librarianship community on whether libraries should use such technology to limit children's Internet access. Some believe that this would be constitutionally inappropriate if anything other than illegal material is blocked (thus effectively ruling out filters). Others argue that existing selection policies are usually based on qualitative and not merely legal criteria, and filtering is merely an extension of that process.

Child advocates want children to be safe no matter where they are, including at the library. And everyone agrees that school, library and community access plays an important role in our children's online development and education. In order for these institutions to properly address the needs of our children, parents must play an active role. In addition, each library should have clear policies regarding Internet access and those policies should be proactively communicated to parents.