The Government Information Office (GIO) and members of the Taiwan Internet Association (TWIA) are launching a series of initiatives to protect children from unsuitable Web sites.
"So far, the GIO has a good management policy toward TV and radio broadcasting," said Huang Hui-chen (
"However, we are still working to provide the public with a method to better classify Web sites. Thanks to many joint efforts by Internet service providers who come up with ways to improve Internet safety devices, the Web sites that children surf have already been filtered," he said.
According to Huang, The Children and Juveniles Welfare Law (
"Although it is very difficult to execute this classification program, the GIO will do its best to overcome the many challenges," Huang said.
Article 27 of the Children and Juveniles Welfare Law, which was passed in May, requires the government to protect children from content that is restricted in other media. The GIO held the first public hearing on how it can enforce the classification system yesterday morning.
"So far, there are two methods to block unhealthy Web sites from children. The first is the ongoing classification effort, the other is the computer Web site filter programs devised by the private sector," said Chen Kuo-lung (陳國龍), a representative of the Directorate General of Telecommunications under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
According to TWIA, several software programs are already available to parents to track their children's online browsing histories. Those interested can visit www.NetGuard.com.tw for more details.
"Currently, the government requires Internet service providers to rate their Web sites into four classes: `general,' `parental guidance,' `protected' and `R-rated,'" said Cherng Chia-jun (程嘉君), the director of TWIA.
General-rated Web sites can safely be viewed by anyone, while children aged under 12 wishing to view protected sites should do so only with a parent. Parents should also be on hand to screen content on parental guidance-rated sites for those under 18, while only over 18s should have access to R-rated sites.
However, Cherng said, the government can play only a counseling role in children's use of the Internet.
"It is the responsibility of school teachers and parents to determine what Web sites are considered unhealthy for children," Cherng said.
Members of TWIA include Hinet, seednet, sonnet, TTN, Yahoo, pchome, Yam and TWNIC.
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