Mobile Operators To Provide Content Ratings

Major U.S. mobile operators have agreed to identify adult content and create filtering and blocking technologies for mobile content offerings.

Members of the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA), a Washington D.C.-based industry and lobbying group representing cellular and personal communications industries, has unveiled a voluntary pledge made by its members to classify content offered via mobile wireless services, and to provide tools to filter and restrict content accessible to minors.

The agreement initially divides content into two categories: Generally Accessible Carrier Content available to all users, and Restricted Carrier Content, to be accessible only to users over 18 years of age or to minors with a parent’s or guardian’s authorization. For the time being, no content offered by mobile operators falls into the Restricted Carrier Content category. Under the agreement, carriers first need to provide filters and controls to prevent users from accessing restricted content