A press release on RATING SYSTEMS & the IWF

[Yaman Akdeniz]

This is not about crypto but because it has been mentioned yesterday 
I think some of you might be interested and this is all about 
todays's DTI meeting.

Apologies for sending it.

Yaman


Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK)
<http://www.leeds.ac.uk/law/pgs/yaman/yaman.htm>

For Immediate Release, March 03, 1998

Internet Watch Foundation launches a consultation paper on "Rating and
Filtering Internet Content - A United Kingdom Perspective"

LEEDS - Today the Internet Watch Foundation, a self-regulatory body
supported by the UK government announced its consultation paper for
the development of rating systems at a national level. According to an
IWF press release, rating systems would "meet parents' concerns about
Internet content that is unsuitable for children."

Although the consultation document refers to national perspectives,
the Internet Watch Foundation is planning to develop the rating
systems together with its international partners at a global level
under the INCORE project.

Following the launch of the Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK)
report, "Who Watches the Watchmen: Internet Content Rating Systems,
and Privatised Censorship," which was critical of the development of
rating systems by the IWF in November 1997, the representatives of
both Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK) and the Internet Watch
Foundation had two meetings concerning the development of rating
systems (one in December 97, the second one in January 98).

Yaman Akdeniz head of the CR&CL (UK) stated that:

"The purpose of our report was to raise public awareness which we
succeeded in doing. But we wanted to take the IWF initiatives one step
back. The real question to be put to the UK public should be - whether
the rating systems should be developed at all rather than how to do
them (as suggested by the current proposals)."

Yaman Akdeniz also stated that:

"With rating systems and the moral panic behind the Internet content,
the Internet could be transformed into a `family friendly' medium, not
more adventurous than the likes of the BBC. But it should be
remembered that the Internet is not as intrusive as the TV and users
seldom encounter illegal content such as child pornography."

Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK) will have a new section dealing
with the IWF consultation process in which online users views on the
IWF consultation document will be published. There will also be a
reply by the IWF to the Who Watches the Watchmen Report and we are
hoping to engage the concerned citizens with this important debate.

Notes for the Media:

Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK) press release is available at
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/law/pgs/yaman/watch-iwf.html

Internet Watch Foundation consultation document - "Rating and
Filtering Internet Content - A United Kingdom Perspective," is
available at http://www.internetwatch.org.uk/rating.html. A press
release on this document is available at
http://www.internetwatch.org.uk/p030398.html.

Comments on the IWF consultation document should be sent to
report@iwf.org.uk with a subject line "Rating Report Comment." If you
send a copy of your comments to Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK),
we will publish them online under a separate section - Replies to the
IWF.

Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK) Report, `Who Watches the Watchmen:
Internet Content Rating Systems, and Privatised Censorship,' which was
launched in November 1997, is available at
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/law/pgs/yaman/watchmen.htm.

Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK) has a section dealing with the
regulation of child pornography on the Internet. It includes
information about all UK cases involving child pornography. See
<http://www.leeds.ac.uk/law/pgs/yaman/child.htm>

Akdeniz, Yaman "Governance of Pornography and Child Pornography on the
Global Internet: A Multi-Layered Approach," in Edwards, L and Waelde,
C eds, Law and the Internet: Regulating Cyberspace, Hart Publishing,
1997, pp 223-241. See
<http://www.leeds.ac.uk/law/pgs/yaman/governan.htm>

Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK) 
<http://www.leeds.ac.uk/law/pgs/yaman/yaman.htm>

Mr Yaman Akdeniz
Address: Centre For Criminal Justice Studies, University of Leeds, LS2
9JT. Direct Telephone: 0498-865116, dial (44)498 865116 if you are
abroad. Fax: 0113- 2335056 E-mail: lawya@leeds.ac.uk Url:
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/law/pgs/yaman/yaman.htm

Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK) is a non-profit civil liberties
organisation founded on January 10, 1997. Its main purpose is to
promote free speech and privacy on the Internet and raise public
awareness of these important issues. The Web pages have been online
since July 1996. Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK) started to become
involved with national Internet-related civil liberties issues
following the release of the DTI white paper on encryption in June
1996 and the Metropolitan Police action to censor around 130
newsgroups in August 1996. Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK)
recently criticised the attempts of the Nottinghamshire County Council
to suppress the availability of the JET Report on the Internet.

Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK) covers such important issues as
the regulation of child pornography on the Internet and UK
Government's encryption policy. The organisation provides up-to-date
information related to free speech and privacy on the Internet.
Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK) is a member of various action
groups on the Internet and also a member of the Global Internet
Liberty Campaign (see <http://www.gilc.org>) which has over 30 member
organisations world wide.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yaman Akdeniz <lawya@leeds.ac.uk>
Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK) at:
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/law/pgs/yaman/yaman.htm

Read CR&CL (UK) Report, 'Who Watches the Watchmen'
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/law/pgs/yaman/watchmen.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~