The ICRA responds to Alberto Gonzalez
WASHINGTON, April 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez announced a new legislative package, the Child Pornography and Obscenity Prevention Amendments of 2006, which will require communications providers to report the presence of child pornography on their systems by strengthening criminal penalties for failing to do so. In addition, the Attorney General added a proposal to mandate the labeling of sexually explicit material with "warning labels."
The Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA) is an international, non- profit organization of Internet leaders working to protect children from objectionable material while preserving free speech on the Internet.
In response to this new legislative initiative, Stephen Balkam, CEO of ICRA, replies:
"ICRA applauds the efforts of Attorney General Gonzalez to combat child pornography, which is abhorrent and utterly illegal. We understand the gravity of this widespread threat and share the goal of creating a safer Internet for children. However, we vigorously oppose an added measure included in the draft bill which would require Web sites with sexually explicit material -- material that is legal, but potentially harmful to minors -- to use a government-mandated labeling system. ICRA strongly believes that self- regulation of legal Internet content leads to the best balance between the free flow of digital content and the protection of children from potentially harmful material.
ICRA's self-labeling system is applicable in any language. Parents can use filtering software to allow or disallow access to Web sites based on the information declared in the label. A nationally mandated system like the one proposed today for sites with sexually explicit material cannot guarantee international compliance. US-based servers will simply move offshore to avoid this well intentioned, but fatally flawed law.
We look forward to sharing our ideas with the Department of Justice and together, we can work to prevent and punish illegal child exploitation while allowing legal access to adult material and also protecting children from potentially harmful material."
ICRA's mission is to direct users to the content they want, to trust what they find, and to avoid content they prefer not to see, whether for themselves or their children. ICRA is supported by many of the leading Internet industry players: AOL, AT&T, British Telecom, CompTIA, Microsoft, RuleSpace, T-Online, and Verizon
The Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA) is an international, non- profit organization of Internet leaders working to protect children from objectionable material while preserving free speech on the Internet.
In response to this new legislative initiative, Stephen Balkam, CEO of ICRA, replies:
"ICRA applauds the efforts of Attorney General Gonzalez to combat child pornography, which is abhorrent and utterly illegal. We understand the gravity of this widespread threat and share the goal of creating a safer Internet for children. However, we vigorously oppose an added measure included in the draft bill which would require Web sites with sexually explicit material -- material that is legal, but potentially harmful to minors -- to use a government-mandated labeling system. ICRA strongly believes that self- regulation of legal Internet content leads to the best balance between the free flow of digital content and the protection of children from potentially harmful material.
ICRA's self-labeling system is applicable in any language. Parents can use filtering software to allow or disallow access to Web sites based on the information declared in the label. A nationally mandated system like the one proposed today for sites with sexually explicit material cannot guarantee international compliance. US-based servers will simply move offshore to avoid this well intentioned, but fatally flawed law.
We look forward to sharing our ideas with the Department of Justice and together, we can work to prevent and punish illegal child exploitation while allowing legal access to adult material and also protecting children from potentially harmful material."
ICRA's mission is to direct users to the content they want, to trust what they find, and to avoid content they prefer not to see, whether for themselves or their children. ICRA is supported by many of the leading Internet industry players: AOL, AT&T, British Telecom, CompTIA, Microsoft, RuleSpace, T-Online, and Verizon
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