An alternative title for this article could be "How to Protect Children from Online Pornography." Let's admit it, we can’t fully achieve this. However, we can help limit inappropriate content from both the webmaster's and the parents' sides.
The American Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP) developed the RTA meta tag, which allows for better filtering of adult content. The tag is optional, so it is up to each webmaster to decide whether to implement it.
Here’s how the labeling and filtering of websites works in practice:
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The webmaster downloads the code from https://www.rtalabel.org:
<meta name="RATING" content="RTA-5042-1996-1400-1577-RTA" />and places it in the header of their website. Once the code is placed, the webmaster starts the verification process on https://www.rtalabel.org, which costs $10 for 1-10 domains. After completing the verification process, the webmaster receives an icon that can be placed on the website. ASACP hopes that the icon will increase public awareness and enhance the site's credibility. Widespread adoption of the rating has not yet occurred, likely due to the cost of the service. ASACP has made it easier for webmasters by offering a Wordpress plugin for implementing the rating.
- From the webmaster's side, the website is now prepared for filtering. However, the actual filtering is done on the parents' side. Parents can download the Parental Controls program from Microsoft’s website to set up content filtering and monitor all activities on the computer. This program works for Windows Vista and newer versions, as well as for OSX.
The question of whether it is appropriate to monitor our children’s activities on the computer is left aside. Children can still access such materials despite all monitoring and filters. Both ASACP and the .XXX domain had similar ideas for protecting children from pornography, but in practice, these ideas are impractical.