ICRAchecked Adds the Human Touch to Increase Internet Safety
Launches world's first review service to check accuracy of website labeling
This is the US version of this press release. a UK version is also available.
Washington, DC, 30 November 2006. Today the Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA) stepped
up its campaign to help make the Internet a safer place for children and families, with the launch of ICRAchecked, the
world's first independent validation service for Web sites that self-label with ICRA.
This unique service, which is underpinned by Solarsoft's advanced SurfTM content management system, provides
a professional, human check, which examines the accuracy of a Web site's ICRA label against the content present on the site
on a given review date. In addition, it offers Webmasters the first of a range of new services that include Label Assist,
where ICRA reviews the site, then creates and hosts the label. This minimizes the work required by the Webmaster and also
means that the site is automatically included in the ICRAchecked database
The ICRAchecked database will be made available to search engines that request it, giving them access to a verified list of
labeled Web sites for the very first time. This will allow them to offer end-users extra information in their search results by
indicating whether a site is correctly labeled, adding another layer of trust for those using the Internet.
This is beneficial to both Internet users, as it means that they can make a better informed choice about which sites they
look at, and to Web site owners, because it has the potential to make their sites more visible in search results.
"We have the world's number one self-labeling system with more than 200,000 sites already labeled with ICRA, but we
wanted to take that a stage further," Stephen Balkam, CEO at ICRA, said. "We still believe that the best people
to label content are the ones who created it, but as the amount of content uploaded to the Internet increases, it becomes
increasingly difficult to know what sites contain, even if they're labeled. As a result, users are increasingly looking for
assurances that sites are what they say they are before they access them - that's what ICRAchecked gives them."
Dave Miles, business development vice president at Solarsoft, added, "Self-labeling is critical, but we realize that labels are not always
an accurate reflection of the content. That's why we've worked closely with the ICRA team and provide our proven content management system to
underpin ICRA PadTM, the bespoke multi-engine platform that allows ICRA to provide this new range of professional services."
About Solarsoft
Solarsoft is a leading provider of technologies and solutions designed to make the Internet a safer place. SurfTM is the
first of a completely new generation of personal browsers which in conjunction with a wider range of patented content
management products, are set to redefine the way people use the Internet.
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