---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 29 Aug 1997 05:02:01 -0700 (PDT) From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com> To: fight-censorship-announce@vorlon.mit.edu Subject: Update on "news rating," Internet Content Coal mtg, from Netly ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 18:48:22 +0000 From: Noah Robischon <noah@pathfinder.com> To: declan@well.com Subject: ICC UPDATE The Netly News http://www.netlynews.com Afternoonline August 28, 1997 ICC You Later The Internet Content Coalition has rolled over, but it's not dead yet. In today's closed-to-the-press meeting, most of the two dozen news organizations in attendance opposed the rating of news sites on the Web -- whether from third parties or from the Coalition itself. This sharp turnabout followed criticism of the Coalition's attempts to establish voluntary ratings guidelines for the industry. "Everyone in the room agreed to a general statement that as news organizations we will not rate our content and we oppose the efforts of others to rate our content," said Dan Okrent, Time Inc. New Media's Editor In Chief. But self-labelling is not totally dead: today's membership was divided between those who still want to work with filtering software and browser companies and hardliners such as Times-Mirror who don't want to negotiate with Microsoft and Netscape at all. Such divisions lead to questions about the structure of the ICC, which is still struggling to define its membership, its mission and even its ability to speak on behalf of the world's media giants. Members of the press were barred from today's meeting, a semmingly paradoxical move given the nature of the discussion. Acting president Mark Bailey told The Netly News that reporters were barred from the proceeding so that an open and broad-based debate could take place. "We also have not invited ratings people and we also have not invited a lot of browser people," he said. "We really wanted this to be a news publisher meeting." -- By Noah Robischon