|
|
|  | ||
|
|
| |||
|
'Dot Kids' Domain Name Legislation Approved by House CommitteeMay 7, 2002 — In an effort to protect children on the Internet by establishing a special Web domain, the House Energy & Commerce Committee recently approved the Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002 (H.R. 3833). The bill would establish a child-friendly ".kids" domain in the ".us" space, the United States' top-level domain. The main feature of ".kids" is ensuring appropriate content for children 13 and under. AEP ONLINE first reported on ".kids" in our December 6, 2000 issue, when the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers selected seven new domain names, but declined four applications for ".kids." Subsequently (see our 7/10/01 issue), Reps. John Shimkus, R-Ill., and Edward Markey, D-Mass. introduced a House bill aimed at requiring the U.S. Department of Commerce to add ".kids" to the growing list of top-level domains before approving any others. The current legislation assigns responsibility to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to establish and oversee the operation of the domain name; NTIA will require NeuStar, the registry selected to operate and maintain the ".us" domain, to do the same for ".kids." NeuStar must provide and implement written content standards for ".kids"; participating Web site operators must sign an agreement that their sites will comply. The bill also calls for a grievance procedure should a site be removed from the domain. "Libraries and bookstores organize by sections of similar material, and right now there is no section on the Internet for children," commented Shimkus. "Sites locating on the '.kids.us' domain would voluntarily be there and be subject to continuous review for objectionable material." First introduced in March to the Telecommunications and Internet subcommittee, this bill was approved with some amendments, such as forbidding hyperlinks to pages outside of the domain and interactive services not declared safe for minors. "There's a lot of filth floating around on the Internet that kids, or anyone else for that matter, can just innocently stumble onto," said the Telecommunications and Internet chairman, Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI). "As a parent of two small children, I know we've got to give parents the tools they need to limit kids' access to these materials." | ||||
|
©2007
The Association of Educational Publishers | ||||
