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2.7 Reducing offensive or controversial Internet content

MNet found that 52 per cent of respondents supported the establishment of a "hot line" to monitor and deal with offensive and controversial content encountered by children on the Internet.

Bertelsmann found a greater level of support for the "hot line" in all three of its sample countries; 80 per cent in Germany, 70 per cent in Australia and 66 per cent in the USA. Residents of the U.S. felt such a "hot line" should be operated by Internet companies and ISPs (49 per cent); Australians backed a mixed government/industry model (30 per cent); while Germans endorsed a system operated by Internet companies alone (50 per cent).

MNet also found that 40 per cent of Canadian respondents endorsed the establishment of an industry-run Web site content rating system. A similar rating system for Web pages, linked to an active filtering system, was endorsed by 90 per cent of Australians, 84 per cent of Germans and 83 per cent of Americans. Similarly, a Web site rating system was found acceptable by 82 per cent of those in Germany, 78 per cent in Australia and 69 per cent in the U.S.

2.8 Responsibility for supervising Internet content

The MNet findings show that Canadians varied greatly in their opinion on who should "supervise" internet content: 36 per cent called on Internet Service Providers (ISPs); 34 per cent suggested individual Internet users; 32 per cent called upon the government; 28 per cent believed it should be an entity independent of both government and the Internet industry; 23 per cent felt it should be the responsibility of Web site producers; and five per cent called for no supervision at all.

Bertelsmann found Germans to be most supportive of Internet content regulation by government (i.e. the courts and politicians), with 55 per cent endorsing this approach, compared with just seven per cent in the U.S., and 35 per cent in Australia. However, in both Australia and Germany, there was also a far greater belief that the Internet industry itself should control content: 81 per cent in Australia and 71 per cent in Germany. Meanwhile, fifty-two per cent of Australian and 41 per cent of U.S. respondents supported the idea that Internet users themselves had a major responsibility to help regulate Internet content. Only 29 per cent of Germans felt that this was the case.

Figure 1.3
Who should regulate Internet content? 

* Respondents were allowed to give as many responses as they felt were appropriate, hence column totals exceed 100 per cent.

In addition, Bertelsmann also found that over eighty per cent of respondents in all three countries supported some form of Internet industry self-regulation. However, 83 per cent of U.S. and 57 per cent of German respondents also believe in the primacy of parental responsibility, and 31 per cent of those in Germany and 12 per cent of those in the U.S. would opt for Government regulation (comparable information for Australia is unavailable.)

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