Converging Technologies: Consequences fo

[Irene Graham]

On 02 Oct 98 15:49:42 +1100 David.Goldstein@aba.gov.au wrote:

>Hi all
>
>Some of you may be interested in a report by the UK Department of Trade and 
>Industry titled `Converging Technologies: Consequences for the new 
>Knowledge-Driven Economy'. 
[...]

http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB19980929S0006

British Government Explores Content Filters
                 (09/29/98 10:46 a.m. ET)
                 By Andrew Craig, TechWeb 

                 The British government renewed Monday its plight to
                 protect its citizens from harmful content on the
                 Internet by announcing proposals for a government-led
                 effort to develop easy-to-use content filters.

                 But though the use of Internet content filters has
                 been discussed by governments for several years, the
                 effectiveness of filters in blocking harmful material
                 from individuals -- especially children -- is
                 unproven, according to civil rights groups. 

                 Use of content filters to let individuals decide what
                 content they want to view on the Web is one of
                 several convergence issues discussed in the report
                 titled Converging Technologies: The Consequences For
                 The New Knowledge-Driven Economy, compiled by the
                 Future Unit of Britain's Department of Trade and
                 Industry. 

                 The report was the result of discussions with
                 researchers, business teams in the private and public
                 sector, regulators, and industry associations in the
                 United Kingdom and United States. The British
                 government will address the issues raised in the
                 report in a white paper expected later this year. 

                 A work program is needed, according to the
                 government-commissioned report, to develop and trial
                 the style of simple-to-use content filters,
                 applicable to all electronic media. 

                 Content filters would place the responsibility of
                 content selection back on the individual, the report
                 says. "The criminal law would still provide a basic
                 framework for action against gross content abuse [for
                 example, child pornography], but the free provision
                 of software to support content filtering, designed to
                 be very easy to use, could empower the individual
                 and/or the family to make such decision," it says. 

                 But civil rights groups said more research should be
                 conducted into how to protect individuals from
                 harmful Internet content. 

                 "This policy is not new, and it has been on the table
                 of the regulators since 1996," said Yaman Akdeniz,
                 spokesman for U.K.-based Cyber-Rights &
                 Cyber-Liberties. "But there has not been a major
                 study or research to assess the real amount of
                 problems consumers or children may encounter on the
                 Internet," Akdeniz said. 

                 "The assumption that filters or rating systems will
                 be the answer is also wrong and remains unproven,"
                 said Akdeniz. 

                 However, others welcomed the government's support of
                 filters. 

                 "Filters are not going to stop a person who
                 explicitly looks [for harmful material], but it would
                 be nice if you could type some words without getting
                 unwanted stuff," said Robin Clewer, operations
                 director at Mirago, a U.K. search engine that gives
                 users the option of filtering out sexual or violent
                 content. 

                 Content filters should be simple to use, having a
                 straightforward iconic interface and using familiar
                 metaphors, according to the report. More complicated
                 software could create a problem whereby the only
                 people who could operate it were those we seek to
                 protect -- the children, it says.