LONDON, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- British Culture Secretary Andy Burnham says his country and the world should employ a ratings system for Internet sites akin to movie ratings.
The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday that Burnham intends to hold talks with the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama about the proposal of an online decency crackdown.
Burnham said an international ratings effort would help contain instances of indecency online, along with copyright and libel incidents.
"If you look back at the people who created the Internet, they talked very deliberately about creating a space that governments couldn't reach. I think we are having to revisit that stuff seriously now," he said. "It's true across the board in terms of content, harmful content and copyright. Libel is (also) an emerging issue.
"I think there is definitely a case for clearer standards online.
"More ability for parents to understand if their child is on a site, what standards it is operating to. What are the protections that are in place?"
