European Parliament Adopts Resolution on Managing Online Access

The European Parliament voted, 460-0, on April 11 to approve a resolution that endorsed self-regulatory approaches to "the protection of minors and human dignity" in accessing Internet content.

The Parliament opposed government moves to block access to certain sites, noting that it would not address the problem of sites located on servers outside the European Union nor protecting adult access to sites that could be considered harmful to children. Among other points in the resolution, the Parliament:

• called on its member states to incorporate the teaching of media literacy into their educational systems;
  
  
• reiterated its conviction that it was primarily the responsibility of children's legal guardians to protect them from inappropriate content;
  
  
• called on the European Commission to promote "the creation of user-friendly content filter systems at affordable prices";
  
  
• encouraged the Digital Video Broadcasting Consortium to work on the development of reliable filter and rating systems for digital broadcasting;
  
  
• welcomed the development of the Internet Content Rating Association and a rating system that could reflect regional values;
  
  
• called on member states to set up hotline for complaints about online content and to encourage Internet Service Providers to establish "abuse departments."

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