What is your web site? Uc, U, PG, 12A, 12, 15, 18 or R18?

The [government’s] idea of certification for the web is broadly impractical and unenforceable, but the intent is well meant, however it should not be taken in isolation. This kind of rating idea has been touted before and I discussed it with surfers whilst I was on the user focus group and steering committee at Ask Jeeves back in 2000. 

I agree that encouraging wiser parental control should be at the core of any proposition to help curb the influence of the nastier side of life that the Internet offers a window into. 

One way would to offer “monitoring” rather than blocking, as monitoring has been shown to encourage responsible usage and foster a greater trust and understanding, rather than prohibition, which alienates and in some ways divorces the guardian (parent, teacher, elder sibling, etc.) from their duty of care (read: “oh the computer will stop anything really nasty”). I experienced this when architecting such solutions (at Chronicle Solutions) for corporate organisations. 

I would rather see guardian’s draw-up AUPs with those they are responsible for and then monitor their usage against that, discuss and revise, than see the government impose an arbitrary rating system that gives artificial comfort of control.