President Clinton and Vice President Gore sounded almost like webmonkeys Wednesday as they talked about a software "toolbox" they want parents of Net-surfing kids to have.
The White House infobahn duo gave the toolbox metaphor a workout during a media event staged to announce a series of steps undertaken by industry and other interested parties to make censorware and Net rating-systems the principal focus of a national effort to protect kids from online pornographers and predators. The event signaled that, for now at least, the White House is steering away from draconian regulatory approaches such as the recently overturned Communications Decency Act.
"These are not just tools, but a virtual toolbox - and much easier than programming your VCRs," Gore said while giving a demo of filtering software.
"Our message to parents is clear: You don't let your kids take a trip in a car without a safety belt. You shouldn't let your kids travel in cyberspace without this Internet toolbox," said America Online president Steve Case.
Most software in the so-called toolbox has been around for a while, with mixed reviews: blocking software like NetNanny and CyberPatrol, rating systems like Platform for Internet Content Selection (PICS), and custom filters by ISPs and online providers.
Representatives from Microsoft, SurfWatch, AT&T, the World Wide Web Consortium, the Center for Democracy and Technology, Media Access Project, the American Library Association, and People for the American Way met with administration officials and members of Congress before the event to discuss guidelines for content self-regulation and new technologies to "empower" parents.
As part of the continuing dialog among all interested parties, AOL's Case also announced that in October industry leaders, consumer and parent groups, and law enforcement will hold an "Internet Summit" to develop concrete policies on how to keep kids away from certain corners of the Net.
Another initiative announced Wednesday: Yahoo, Excite, Infoseek, and Lycos said they would work together to find ways to make sites they list in their directories easy to rate.
But some of the heavier hitters at the session conceded that the self-rating and self-regulation path might still lead to more formal government action later on.
"If someone self-rates their Web site inaccurately, we already have the ability to prosecute them through unfair practice rules - the legal authority already exists," Federal Trade commissioner Christine Varney told Wired News at the event. "Everyone understands that we might need legislation, but we have to give this a chance first."
PTA president Lois Jean White, who spoke at the event, was more blunt: "If we cannot find common ground, we would reluctantly turn to other solutions, like Congress."
