(Fwd) News orgs refuse to rate their material - EPIC Alert 4.12
Robin Whittle
rw@firstpr.com.au
Fri, 5 Sep 1997 11:47:18 +1000
Here is part of the latest EPIC Alert - 4.12, telling how some major
online news organisations have refused to use Internet content
rating on their material - which may lead to reduced acceptance of
filtering software which blocks access to unrated material.
This issue also mentions various US crypt court battles and the FBI
explicitly stating (apparently for the first time) it wants
mandatory key-escrow on all crypto products "manufactured or
imported" into the USA.
- Robin
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==============================================================
Volume 4.12 September 4, 1997
--------------------------------------------------------------
Published by the
Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
Washington, D.C.
http://www.epic.org/
=======================================================================
Table of Contents
=======================================================================
[1] SSA to Restore Online Web Service
[2] Freeh Makes It Official: FBI Wants Mandatory Key Escrow
[3] Crypto in the Courts: Update on Bernstein, Karn & Junger
[4] Media Group Says "No" to Internet Ratings
[5] U.S. Government Web Sites Fail to Protect Privacy
[6] Consumer Groups Question FTC Privacy Report
[7] Clinton Signs IRS Browsing Bill
[8] Upcoming Conferences and Events
<Snip>
=================================================================
[4] Media Group Says "No" to Internet Ratings
=================================================================
Internet rating proposals suffered a serious setback on August 28,
when the Internet Content Coalition (ICC) decided not to pursue a
rating scheme for online news sites. The ICC, which includes
entertainment, technology, and news companies, had earlier expressed
its willingness to develop criteria for assigning an "N" rating to
Websites devoted to news coverage. Sites carrying such a rating would
be exempt from filtering and blocking systems designed to limit access
to "offensive" online material. The blocking approach was touted at a
White House meeting in July, convened to create a "family-friendly"
Internet in the wake of the Supreme Court decision striking down the
Communications Decency Act.
In recent weeks, criticism of filtering and blocking systems has
increased, with both the American Library Association and the American
Civil Liberties Union issuing position papers warning that such
approaches could infringe on free speech. Controversies have arisen
across the country as local libraries have considered proposals to
install blocking software on library computers connected to the
Internet.
The ICC's recent action calls into question the viability of such
systems, which can be configured to block access to unrated Websites.
If major news sources such as CNN, MSNBC and NEWS.COM elect not to
rate their content, both institutional and individual users will
likely be less inclined to install software filters and lose access to
such resources. As a result, the debate over news ratings will have a
significant impact on the deployment of filtering systems, and news
organizations appear to be strongly opposed to ratings. According to
the Netly News, Time Inc. New Media's Editor-in-Chief Dan Okrent said
after the ICC meeting that "Everyone in the room agreed to a general
statement that as news organizations we will not rate our content and
we oppose the efforts of others to rate our content."
Additional information on ratings, filtering and blocking is available
at:
http://www.epic.org/free_speech/censorware/
=====================================================================
The EPIC Alert is a free biweekly publication of the Electronic
Privacy Information Center. To subscribe, send email to
epic-news@epic.org wih the subject: "subscribe" (no quotes) or use
the subscription form at:
http://www.epic.org/alert/subscribe.html
Back issues are available at:
http://www.epic.org/alert/
=======================================================================
The Electronic Privacy Information Center is a public interest
research center in Washington, DC. It was established in 1994 to
focus public attention on emerging privacy issues such as the Clipper
Chip, the Digital Telephony proposal, national ID cards, medical
record privacy, and the collection and sale of personal information.
EPIC is sponsored by the Fund for Constitutional Government, a
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Thank you for your support.
---------------------- END EPIC Alert 4.12 -----------------------
| Robin Whittle Consumer advocacy in telecommunications, |
| especially privacy. |
| |
| First Principles Research and expression - music, tele- |
| communications, Internet music marketing,|
| human factors in technology adoption. |
| Consulting and technical writing. |
| |
| Real World Interfaces Electronics and software for music. |
| |
| rw@firstpr.com.au http://www.firstpr.com.au |
| |
| 11 Miller St. Heidelberg Heights 3081 Melbourne Australia |
| Ph +61 3 9459 2889 Fax +61 3 9458 1736 |