FOSI projects
Current Projects
QUATRO Plus
October 2007 — September 2009
The original Quatro project established a common framework for trustmarks, quality seals and labels that aid
child protection. Co-funded by the European Union Safer Internet Action Plan, it was an important input into
the Content Label Incubator Activity at W3C and introduced the concept of machine readability to new areas.
Two end user tools were produced that make use of a central service that identifies and authenticates labels. For
example, ICRA labels are authenticated using the ICRAchecked service.
Quatro Plus is a largely technical project however it has a clear non-technical aim: that users should be
given signposts as they navigate the Web pointing to and highlighting content that meets their expectations of quality,
privacy, security and appropriateness. It is hoped that a wide variety of trustmarks, quality seals and
accreditation programmes will gain directly from the new project. The project will benefit from detailed usability
testing of its tools and commercial imperatives in the delivery of its services.
Specific goals include:
- the establishment of an open system that allows users and experts to create, share and comment on labels;
- the improvement and hardening of the central Quatro Proxy. It will be re-built across multiple servers, be optimized to handle significant traffic volumes, and offer an increased number of functions;
- the development and improvement of the original tools — the ViQ browser extension and the LADI search annotation tool — to support individual preferences, simple reporting mechanisms and more;
- use of the Quatro platform within commercial software;
- the localized deployment of the Quatro architecture within company/institutional intranets for the sharing of trusted opinions within and between organizational units.
Quatro Plus will implement the new W3C Protocol for Web Description Resources (POWDER), the working group for which includes
several Quatro Plus project members. It also draws on the work of the MedIEQ project, also co-funded by the EU, with which,
again, there is shared membership.
Protocol for Web Description Resources (POWDER)
February 2007 - March 2008
Following on from the work of the Content Label Incubator, POWDER is a full W3C Working Group,
chartered to create one or more new Recommendations (the W3C term for Web Standards). It is the
culmination of efforts made under several of the projects listed on this page to create and deploy
a new standard for what we now call Description Resources (née content labels).
Members of both the W3C POWDER and Mobile Web Best Practies Groups meeting at T-Online's offices in Darmstadt, 26 April 2007. Clockwise round the room from the left:
Mike Smith (W3C), Jo Rabin (dotMobi), Phil Archer (FOSI), Pantelis Nasikas (NCSR Demokritos), Ed Mitukiewicz (France Telecom), Kjetil Kjernsmo (Opera Software).
The goal remains a distributed, scaleable system that uses authenticated metadata to identify resources that
meet particular criteria. For example, those that meet accessibility criteria, those that will function
on a mobile device (are 'mobileOK'), are recommended by trusted third parties, are eligible
for an independent trustmark or seal of approval - and, importantly for FOSI - are, or are not, suitable
for children.
In essence, POWDER is about content discovery and personalization, empowering users to find content that
meets their criteria, whatever those criteria may be. This complements, and to a large degree is
interoperable with, the many technologies that help users find what is popular.
FOSI is proud to chair this Working Group.
Youth Protection Roundtable
May 2007 - April 2009
FOSI is taking part in the Youth Protection Roundtable, organized by the Stiftung Digitale Chancen (Digital Opportunities Foundation) in
Berlin. Funded by the European Union's Safer Internet Programme, YPRT is a two-year project that brings together a wide variety
of organizations from across Europe working to improve online safety.
The aims, activities and output from the project are all explained on its dedicated website and in its regular newsletters.
In March 2008, FOSI was among the organisations that gathered under the auspices of the YPRT to discuss the impact of
the EU's E-Commerce Directive on online safety. FOSI fully supports the statement which came out of that meeting. In essence,
the Directive provides a disincentive for ISPs and other online service providers to take proactive measures for youth protection
that many might otherwise take. It seems highly improbably that this was the intention and therefore that the wording needs to be
clarified.
February 2006 - February 2007
ICRA is proud to be leading the W3C Content Label Incubator Group, the first activity of its kind within the Web's
leading standards body. Known by the acronym WCL-XG, the group is considering a variety of use cases that call for a
common set of metadata to be applied to one or more online resources. In simpler terms, it's charged with looking at
different methods for labelling Web content.
ICRA itself presents a significant use case but there are others, including trustmarks (as developed in the Quatro
project), conformance with standards and guidelines (such as web accessibility and mobileOK) and digital rights
management. Flexibility, applicability across multiple media types, relevance to search and methods for increasing the
trust that can be placed in labels are all key objectives.
From ICRA's perspective the XG is the latest step in the development of its labelling platform, the history of
which goes back to the original Labelling Working Group that ran between June and December 2004. The work was then
transferred to the Quatro project and produced the RDF-based system used by ICRA today (RDF-CL). Several of the
sponsors of the new Incubator Group have been involved throughout the development of RDF-CL and this is obviously a
key input to the activity. Even so, the group will begin by making a dispassionate assessment of the use cases
before deciding whether RDF-CL is or is not the correct way forward. If it is, what improvements can be made? If
not, what is the better solution?
Mobile Web Best Practices
From June 2005
FOSI is participating in the World Wide Web Consortium's Mobile Web Initiative. The aim is to
make web-based resources as accessible on mobile devices (phones, PDAs etc.) as on desktop computers.
The activity is divided into two closely-related working groups:
Vodafone's Dan Appelquist charing a BPWG meeting
The Device Description Working Group is seeking to devise a reliable method through which things like screen and
memory size, operating system and software can be identified by content providers.
The Best Practices Group is seeking to define an agreed set of best practice guidelines for content providers.
Resources that meet those guidelines will be eligible for a newly created "Mobile OK" trustmark. FOSI is
taking part in this group as trustmark provision is very much in line with its work on RDF-based labels and
into the semantic web. MobileOK is a critical use case for the POWDER working group.
Quatro
Autumn 2004 - 2006
The Quality Assurance and Content Description project (Quatro) is a major project being led by ICRA and UK publishing
consultants, Pira International. The project will build on the established ideas about website labelling, whether for
content descriptions using ICRA's system, for quality assurance or any other reason. The aim is to help internet
users find what they want, to trust what they find, and to avoid material that, for whatever reason, they choose not
to see.
The project has already attracted the attention of major search engines and quality labelling schemes across the
world.
For full details, see the main QUATRO project pages.
SIFT Project
January 2002 - June 2003
A project under the European Union's Internet Action Plan. Led by Spanish family software developers
Optenet with the Greek National Centre for Scientific Research "Demokritos," the project
built on ICRAfilter to create a very powerful and flexible system now known as ICRAplus.
5 year strategic plan
February 2003
ICRA has launched a five year strategic plan to truly fulfil its mission on an international scale. A summary, which
includes ICRA's planned strategic initiatives, benefits and funding requirements can be seen
here (PDF format, 81Kb).
Customization and Personalization through RDF
February 2003
This project has now been superseded by Quatro.
Protecting Kids with Digimarc™
October 2001
ICRA is delighted to be working closely with Digimarc, the leader in digital watermark
technology and applications, to bring a new kind of labelling to the internet. Using features
already available in the some of thew world's leading image software, it is now possible
to add a persistent "Adult content" flag to images. Known as Protecting Kids
with Digimarc™ (or PKD for short), the system is complementary to the ICRA system and
shares our "empowering parents through self-regulation" ethos. Although
Digimarc's technology is well established throughout the world, PKD is a new venture with
plans for future development already in place. For full details, please click here.
ICRAsafe
April 2000 - April 2002
The ICRAsafe project provided much of the foundation for ICRA. Co-funded by the European
Union's Safer Internet Action Plan, the project partners were AOL Europe, the Bertelsmann Stiftung, Thus Plc., and
Cable & Wireless.
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