SurfSafely.com founder Mark Brasche skeptical of .kids.us domain acceptance, urges Congress Proceed with caution."

Ability for .kids.us domain to create safe haven for kids questionable. Broad acceptance of .kids.us safe haven" not likely.

Burlington, CT – November 26, 2002 – Surfsafely.com founder Mark Brasche expressed concern over the possible early demise of the .kids.us domain as legislation was unanimously approved by the US Congress Friday to create a safe haven on the Internet for children.

As hopeful as I am that the .kids.us domain might gain acceptance among web developers" said Mr. Brasche in a brief statement to the press, given that it will be subject to the same heavy handed policing that originally drove PICS labeling into near oblivion, I am doubtful that it will."

In a position statement issued earlier today, SurfSafely urges Congress to proceed with extreme caution toward their approach over how the .kids.us domain will be policed.

I am delighted to see that Congress recognizes a need for improved safety online and is willing to take measures toward that reality…" said Mr. Brasche but Web developers are not likely to subordinate under a system as inherently flawed as this one promises to be."

PICS labeling, when first developed, was originally received extremely well by the Web development community but quickly lost favor when governments stepped in and attempted to legislate its usage. Were it not for the SurfSafely.com directory and major lobbying efforts of ICRA (Internet Content Rating Association) to major corporations and portals, PICS labeling might today be totally extinct.

Reflecting on past lessons of PICS labeling, what is really needed is positive reinforcement for compliance rather than penalties for non-compliance. It will be interesting to see if Congress has learned its history lesson."

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SurfSafely.com is a well-established family-friendly Web directory and search engine that permits indexing only of sites that have been voluntarily self-rated by the Web developers using Platform for Internet Content Selection (PICS) labels. Mark Brasche is himself a web developer, founder of SurfSafely.com and a preeminent expert in the field of online safety.