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October 23rd 2001 Mary Lou Kenny Director of North America Internet Content Rating Association 1001 Connecticut Avenue, NW Suite 501 Washington, DC 20036 Dear Ms. Kenny: The Center for Democracy & Technology congratulates the Internet Content Rating Association on the occasion of the launch of its campaign to protect children online. Voluntary, diverse tools that empower families and Internet users – like ICRA — remain the most effective way to protect children on the global Internet while respecting free expression. CDT has long believed that the best approach to protecting children online is through “user empowerment” — by giving families the tools to control their experience online. Indeed, the only way to recognize and accommodate the global diversity of individual and family values and at the same time preserve the vibrancy of Internet content is to give families the tools they need to tailor their own Internet experience. CDT has therefore been a strong supporter of these user empowerment technologies. When used voluntarily and free from government mandate, tools like ICRA empower users to assure that the online experience of families comport with their values without compromising free expression online or the ability of other users to access information on the Internet. This user empowerment approach recognizes that, on a global network, there is no “one size fits all” solution to protecting children online. We hope that ICRA will continue in this tradition of giving individuals and families more control over what they see online while not restricting the Internet’s potential as a source of information and a forum for open discourse. We are encouraged by ICRA’s commitment to the voluntary use of a diverse range of filtering solutions – particularly in providing a system that works with a multiplicity of filtering templates, and that facilitates development of filtering templates that reflect a wide range of values. We commend ICRA for its contribution to promoting diverse, voluntary user empowerment tools that protect children online. Sincerely, Jerry Berman |
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