Internet Content Rating Association
Encyclopedia
Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA) was an international non-profit organization
with offices in the United States
and the United Kingdom
. In October 2010, the ICRA rating system, and the organization, was permanently discontinued.
Its mission was to help users find the content they want, to trust what they find and to filter out what they do not want for themselves or for their children. ICRA also acted as a forum through which both policy and technical infrastructure are defined to help shape the way that the World Wide Web
and content distribution channels work.
, sex
, language
(vulgar terms etc.), violence
, other potentially undesired material and online interactivity such as social networking and chat. There are context variables such as art
, medicine
and news
—for example, a piece of content or site can be described as having depictions of nudes, but they are in an artistic context. A key point is that ICRA does not rate internet content, nor do they make value judgements about sites – the content providers self-label, and then parents and other concerned adults make a decision as to what is or is not appropriate for themselves or their children.
The labelling was done using a web-based questionnaire. The content creators checked which of the elements in the questionnaire are present or absent from their Web sites, and a small file is automatically generated using the RDF
format, which is then linked to the content on one or more domains. Formerly, the system was based on PICS
.
Users, especially parents of young children, could then use content filtering software to allow or disallow various types of content. One such application, ICRAplus, was maintained by ICRA itself. ICRA also had a validator which tested all versions of ICRA and old RSACi labels.
The descriptive vocabulary was drawn up by an international panel and designed to be as neutral and objective as possible. It was revised in 2005 to enable easier application to a wide range of digital content, not just websites.
The ICRA also intended to launch a service to verify the accuracy of ICRA labels and to provide this information to third-party tools and services, such as search engines.
Alternative labelling projects include Quatro
, an EU
-funded project which integrates content labels with quality and trust marks, and its successor, QuatroPlus.
, British Telecom, Microsoft
, T-Online
and Verizon. ICRA has been supported by the European Union's Internet Action Plan and various trusts and foundations. Through the Associate Membership scheme, individuals could join and support the work of the organization.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
with offices in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. In October 2010, the ICRA rating system, and the organization, was permanently discontinued.
Its mission was to help users find the content they want, to trust what they find and to filter out what they do not want for themselves or for their children. ICRA also acted as a forum through which both policy and technical infrastructure are defined to help shape the way that the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
and content distribution channels work.
Methods
ICRA created a content description system which allowed webmasters and digital content creators to self-label their content in categories such as nudityNudity
Nudity is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations and social considerations...
, sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
, language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
(vulgar terms etc.), violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
, other potentially undesired material and online interactivity such as social networking and chat. There are context variables such as art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
and news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
—for example, a piece of content or site can be described as having depictions of nudes, but they are in an artistic context. A key point is that ICRA does not rate internet content, nor do they make value judgements about sites – the content providers self-label, and then parents and other concerned adults make a decision as to what is or is not appropriate for themselves or their children.
The labelling was done using a web-based questionnaire. The content creators checked which of the elements in the questionnaire are present or absent from their Web sites, and a small file is automatically generated using the RDF
Resource Description Framework
The Resource Description Framework is a family of World Wide Web Consortium specifications originally designed as a metadata data model...
format, which is then linked to the content on one or more domains. Formerly, the system was based on PICS
Platform for Internet Content Selection
The Platform for Internet Content Selection is a specification created by W3C that uses metadata to label webpages to help parents and teachers control what children and students can access on the Internet. The W3C Protocol for Web Description Resources project integrates PICS concepts with RDF...
.
Users, especially parents of young children, could then use content filtering software to allow or disallow various types of content. One such application, ICRAplus, was maintained by ICRA itself. ICRA also had a validator which tested all versions of ICRA and old RSACi labels.
The descriptive vocabulary was drawn up by an international panel and designed to be as neutral and objective as possible. It was revised in 2005 to enable easier application to a wide range of digital content, not just websites.
The ICRA also intended to launch a service to verify the accuracy of ICRA labels and to provide this information to third-party tools and services, such as search engines.
Alternative labelling projects include Quatro
Quatro
Quatro may refer to:*Quatro , a soft drink*Suzi Quatro, musician, actress and radio personality*Quatro , a 1974 album by Suzi Quatro*the Cuatro , a musical instrument*A model of video card by nVidia...
, an EU
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
-funded project which integrates content labels with quality and trust marks, and its successor, QuatroPlus.
Members
ICRA's corporate members included: AOLAOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
, British Telecom, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, T-Online
T-Online
T-Online, a former subsidiary and now business unit of Deutsche Telekom, is the biggest internet service provider in Germany. It evolved out of the proprietary German Bildschirmtext information service in 1995...
and Verizon. ICRA has been supported by the European Union's Internet Action Plan and various trusts and foundations. Through the Associate Membership scheme, individuals could join and support the work of the organization.