Download PICS: Platform for Internet Content Selection

PICS: Platform for Internet Content Selection
Dr. James Miller
MIT Laboratory for Computer
Science
PICS
Rules
Service
Systems
(Process)
(Vocabulary)
Labelers
Label
User
Guarantor
Signed
Label
Search/Filter
Engine
Framing The Question
• The Technology Itself
• U.S. Domestic Use of the Technology
• International Use of the Technology
The Technology Itself
...Since the Web is global, its technology must support a wide
range of policy options that encourage all cultures to use the
Web…. [The Web] architecture must allow local policies to coexist without cultural fragmentation or domination.
• Labels (metadata) are useful for many things
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Improving and automating search (library catalogs)
Quality labels (virus checks, “archivist”, community)
Child protection (content regulation)
Privacy protection (data reuse policy)
Intellectual property rights management
U.S. Domestic Policy
Educate parents about the new medium
– Parental involvement is essential
– Filtering is an aid, not a panacea
Encourage many third-party labels
– Parents must choose
Filter when parents can’t be there
– Public schools, especially grades 6 - 9
– Children in libraries and public spaces
– Parental choice or community choice or …?
International Policy
Oppose mandatory labeling, encourage
objective rating
– Objective rating systems are possible
– Self-rating vs. third-party rating is irrelevant
– More effective as a public service than as a selfsupporting business
Establish objective labeling as a safe haven