With the significant increase in the number of Internet users in the last few years and the unregulated flow of information on the Internet, there has been growing concern with its content. Live streaming adult video, X-rated IRC channels, adult chat rooms, alt.sex, www.playboy.com, the list of possible targets for censorship on the Internet is long indeed. However, the Internet is a valuable medium of information exchange and has numerous benefits. The crisis at hand is finding a solution that will be approved by both proponents of Internet censorship and those who argue against Internet censorship. I have a proposed a simple but effective solution that satisfies these criteria - the use of voluntary rating systems.

The functionality of the proposed solution is very similar to that of filtering softwares. The use of voluntary rating systems is already in partial existence today and has been approved by the Recreational Software Advisory Council (RSAC). Herbert Foerstel, who serves on the Board of Directors of the National Security Archive, explains the steps to the rating system as follows: firstly, each web publisher fills out a questionnaire which helps determine the nature of their site. The RSAC software then analyzes each of the options filled out in the questionnaire to determine a specific rating in each of the four categories: “nudity, sexual activity, harsh language and violence” (Foerstel 45). The next step in the rating process consists of the RSAC software inserting a tag or message to the web page that is later sent to Internet browsers such as Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. Once the RSAC software is enabled by parents, then all they have to do is to set a security password and decide what ratings are appropriate for their child. The purpose of the RSAC software is to electronically inform the Internet browser that in order to access a page which has a rating higher than that set by the parent, then a password will be required.
The solution that I have proposed “empowers the public, especially parents to make informed decisions about what they and their children experience on the internet by means of an objective, content advisory system” (Recreational Software Advisory Council). President Bill Clinton also condones self-regulation of the Internet through the use of voluntary rating systems: “[The Clinton Administration] vigorously support[s] the development and widespread availability of products that allow both parents and schools to block objectionable materials from reaching computers that children use. And we also support the industry’s accelerating efforts to rate Internet sites so that they are compatible with these blocking techniques” (Clinton). President Clinton’s support of voluntary Internet regulation shows that there is a solution that will work in the best interest of both parties involved in the Internet censorship debate.
The voluntary and self-regulatory approach to the Net censorship dilemma is relatively easy to implement, requiring parents to follow only a few simple steps in which they enter a security password and decide what ratings are appropriate for their child. After the rating system is enabled, the child user will be unable to browse web sites that have ratings above the standards set by the parents without knowledge of the password. In addition, this solution is free and thus imposes no financial obligations on parents. Organizations, such as the RSAC, offer this voluntary rating software at no charge. This solution is free, easy to implement, and not very time-consuming.
Alternative solutions exist; for example, having Internet Service Providers (ISPs) filter such sites before users log on to the Internet. However, ISPs should be treated as carriers of data and not publishers of data. ISPs are similar to telephone companies in that they allow the transport of data. Telephone companies are considered carriers and not publishers. They cannot regulate the content of private communications between individuals. ISPs should be treated in an equally similar fashion. Microsoft CEO and computer industry expert Bill Gates in his book on the future of the Internet, The Road Ahead, asserts that the idea of having Internet Service Providers act as censors would be absurd: “Some critics have suggested that communications companies be made gatekeepers, charged with filtering the content of what they carry. This idea would put companies in the business of censoring all communication. It’s entirely unworkable, for one thing because the volume of communicated information is way too large. This idea is no more feasible or desirable than asking a telephone company to monitor and accept legal responsibility for everything that’s spoken or transmitted on its telephone wires” (Gates 310). Indeed, it would be inappropriate to ask a telephone company to be legally responsible for their clients’ content, just as it is inappropriate to ask an ISP to be legally liable for their clients’ content. In essence, approving any law which condones Internet censorship would be illogical because it could not be enforced in foreign countries and would violate the First Amendment right to freedom of the press. The most viable solution to the problem is Internet self-regulation through voluntary rating systems because it is the only Constitutional and practical solution. Web publishers should be afforded the same rights given to traditional print publishers, and Internet Service Providers should be treated as information carriers and not publishers.
The Internet is an unprecedented medium of information exchange which will revolutionize the way in which people work, play, and socialize. The most feasible solution to the Net censorship dilemma is the use of rating systems. It is easy to implement, free, and not very time-consuming. This way people may access the vast amounts of information available on the Internet and at the same time protect their children.

Works Cited
Clinton, Bill. “Statement By The President.” Online. Internet. Address:
http://www.ciec.org/decision_PA/960612_Clinton_stmnt.html. (11 November 1998).
Gates, Bill. The Road Ahead. New York: Penguin Books, 1996.
Foerstel, Herbert N. Banned in the Media. Westport: Greenword Press, 1998.
“Information about the RSACi Rating System.” Online. Internet. Address:
http://www.rsac.org/content/register/index.asp. (29 November 1998).
Recreational Software Advisory Council Web Site. Online. Internet. Address:
http://www.rsac.org/ (11 November 1998).
Whitmer, Clair. “Man Gets 5 Years for Online Child Porn.” CNet, Inc. Online. Internet. Address:
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,787,00.html. (11 November 1998).