Gore Plans For Net Safety
In the wake of the Colorado school shooting, Internet companies have agreed to provide new tools for parents to restrict and monitor online material such as violent video games and hate-group sites, Vice President Al Gore said Wednesday.
The effort will "honor the lives" of the victims at Littleton, Colo., Gore said as he announced an agreement for online providers to offer parents new aids to keep youngsters away from "inappropriate" Web sites with violent, pornographic or hate-filled content.
Under the agreement, Internet companies will include on their home pages a link to a new site featuring a long list of aids for parents. Included will be technology that allows parents to restrict their children's access to Internet sites and keep tabs on the sites they are visiting. It will also allow them to limit the time children spend online, and provide access to a "guide to good content" plus safety tips for youngsters and parents interested in surfing the Internet.
The plan will begin to be implemented in July.
"We understand the Internet's stunning technology gives children and families access to an incredible world of information and, like life itself, most of it is great," Gore said. "But there are some dark corners, there are some fire zones... from which children must be protected."
Joining Gore at the White House ceremony to announce the agreement were consumer activists, Internet company executives and Sens. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., and Pat Leahy, D-Vt.
Violence on the Internet has been a hotly debated topic since the April 20 shootings at a Littleton high school left 15 dead, including the two killers who were said to have played violent video games.
While many sites on the Internet promote child safety, backers say the link from major Internet company sites and the push from Gore mean the site is likely to be widely used.
Some critics have argued for even tougher restrictions on Internet content, but they run into free-speech arguments that have found sympathy in the courts.
Most of the major Internet companies have agreed to the plan, and Gore aides said the deal would cover Internet sites that account for 95 percent of all Internet traffic. Those familiar with bargaining that led to the agreement said the plan also includes a campaign to market the new guide, financed largely by Internet companies themselves.
The companies involved in the agreement are: America Online, AT&T, At Home Network, Bell Atlantic, Commercial Internet eXchange, Disney Online, Excite, Lycos, MCI WorldCom, Microsoft, MindSpring Enterprises, Netscape Communications, Network Solutions, Prodigy Communications and Yahoo!
In announcing the move, Gore seeks to focus attention on his connection to high-tech issues. He has formed an exploratory committee to look into the 2000 Democratic presidential nomination and is considered certain to run.
As he moveto define himself apart from President Clinton, Gore has offered a series of modest proposals on various issues much like the one he announced Wednesday.
Critics say he's being overly cautious, and his rival for the nomination, former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley, argues that Democrats need to be the party of "big ideas."
Gore argues he is offering mainstream proposals on "kitchen table" issues of concern to average voters.