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content rating system for Aussie websites

From the Ars Technica site is the article 'Australian websites to get ratings for content, age'. I am not sure what to make of this one. It seems that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has approved a 'Content Services Code'. The code was developed by the Internet Industry of Australia (IIA). It looks like it will align content ratings with that which we are used to for film (MA15+ etc). From the article:

As part of the code, service providers must use access controls in order to host content rated MA15+ or R18+ (content for those over 18)
This is to apply to content originating in Australia. In adopting this there would seem to be some interesting challenges for a number of different types of sites. Many education related sites cater to ages that span the different age rating systems. The article also states that:
According to the ACMA, any content that is likely to be rated MA15+ (for mature audiences over the age of 15) must be assessed and classified by "trained content assessors." The purpose of this is, of course, to assist parents and children to decide what is appropriate for them
Where does this leave educators and the education system? I am not sure who these trained assessors are but will they be familiar with different State's and school systems curriculums etc? While much content for school systems is sourced from within the system's own networks it is clear that students also have access to content on the wider Web. I started to look further into this and had a browse around the IIA website looking for this code. There is a great deal of stuff there and I am currently looking at the Internet Industry Codes of Practice (2005). There is a link to what looks like a really interesting document called 'Guide for Internet Users: Information about online content'. Good luck accessing that one - unfortunately it seems you need to be an Industry member to access it yet the title suggests it should be available to all users. It might still be a 'work in progress' but it clearly looks like it will be useful to parents, teachers etc. Hopefully I can find a link to it elsewhere. The Ars Technica article goes on to highlight some difficulties this initiative may face. Most Internet content originates outside Australia so the rating system, while useful, can only apply to a small amount of content. I like the idea of general ratings systems - they give me a rough idea of what to expect when watching a television program or a film but I think they are much easier to apply to those types of static content. Internet content is dynamic and changes (in some cases, very) rapidly so accurate ratings will be more difficult to apply. To be accurate, they will need to be applied at a very granular level however I expect the overheads on that will mean that ratings will be applied at a less granular level. I look forward to hearing more news and commentary about this one.

Posted July 18, 2008