JP2002544582A - Control access to content - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Summary Controlling access to requested content includes accessing information that describes the requested content, accessing information that describes at least one restriction on the requested content and geographic information, and This includes determining whether the content information satisfies the regulations. When it is determined that the content information does not satisfy at least one regulation, access to the requested content is denied. If it is determined that the content information satisfies at least one regulation, access to the requested content is permitted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to access control to content.

BACKGROUND The Internet and other computer networks can provide users with a wealth of information on almost any topic. However, some of this information includes material that may be aggressive and / or inappropriate for children. Recreational Software Advisory Council (RS
Organizations such as AC) have proposed rating schemes, which provide users with characteristic information of the content provided by different network sites. RSA
The C rating scheme defines categories that describe violence, nudity, sex, and offensive language contained in content. Different vendors, such as MICROSOFT, have incorporated the RSAC architecture into their software, allowing users to control the displayed content. For example, a parent may configure the browser to deny access to all content with RSAC naturity greater than or equal to "reveling attire". These parental controls can prevent children from watching adult material.

SUMMARY In one general aspect, access control to requested content includes access to information describing the requested content, and at least one restriction on the requested content and geographic information. Access to the information to be described and determination of whether the content information satisfies the regulation.

[0004] Embodiments may include one or more of the following features. For example, if it is determined that the content information does not meet the applicable regulations, access to the requested content may be denied, and if it is determined that the content information satisfies the applicable regulations, the requested content may be denied. Access can be granted.

[0005] The information describing the content may be a content rating. For example, the content rating may include data corresponding to one or more violence, nudity, sex, and language. The content rating may be substantially consistent with the Recreational Software Advisory Council (RSAC) rating scheme.

[0006] Accessing information representing content may include accessing a database containing information of different content. Accessing the information may also include accessing the content information in response to the content request.

[0007] One or more restrictions on the requested content may be determined. This may include inferring the citizenship of the user who requested the content, for example, by accessing the user's billing address and / or determining the access number used by the user.

[0008] The regulation may be a national, international and / or regional regulation, such as a law, ordinance, rule, agreement, declaration or edict. The regulation may be a regulation that applies to residents within a jurisdiction, residents outside a jurisdiction and / or non-residents within a jurisdiction.

[0009] Content may include text, graphics, animation, audio, video, and instructions. The content may be, for example, HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) instructions, XML (Extensible Markup Language) instructions, or MPEG (Moving Picture Expert Group) data.

[0010] Determining whether information representing the requested content satisfies the regulation may include determining that the content information satisfies all of the regulations.

[0011] When a request for content is received, for example at a proxy, an indication that access has been denied may be provided if the content does not meet applicable regulations.

[0012] In another general aspect, accessing requested content available on the Internet includes receiving a request for the content, accessing a content rating representing the requested content, requesting the requestor. Accessing information describing at least one applicable regulation regarding geographical information regarding, determining whether the content information meets the regulation, and determining that the content information does not meet the regulation, Control is performed by rejecting access to the requested content, or by permitting access to the requested content when it is determined that the content information satisfies the regulation.

The present invention may be embodied as a computer program, located on a computer readable medium, for controlling access to requested content.

[0014] One or more of the following advantages may be included. By controlling access to content based on one or more applicable regulations, the system may protect end users and common carriers from their responsibility to view or transmit banned content.
Even in countries where common carrier liability is exempted, the use of a system to self-regulate the content provided by the carrier may make the carrier appeal to the government, for example, when seeking a business permit within a jurisdiction. Using a well-established content rating scheme, the system can be easily incorporated into software that already provides control by the parent and thus utilizes ratings that have already determined the bulk of the content. By centralizing regulation-based control on proxies or other intermediaries, proxies can prevent users from losing control and can protect both users and common carriers.

[0015] Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description, drawings, and claims.

Like reference numerals and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Many different countries regulate the content of materials provided or transmitted for viewing. For example, Japan has banned the transmission of materials, including nakedness. Similarly, Germany has banned residents from accessing materials containing Nazi favor. Saudi Arabia has banned materials, including nudes, within the country and prohibited residents from seeing such materials when traveling to other countries. Material regulations are not limited to national jurisdiction. For example, in the United States, representatives of different countries and states have been discussing local regulations on access to obscene material.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show systems that deny user access to content that does not comply with applicable regulations. Such content may include text, graphics, animation, video, audio, and instructions. Content is HTML
(Hypertext Markup Language), XML (Extensible Markup Language), or MPEG (Moving Picture Expert Group).

As shown in FIG. 1, the search engine creates a list of URLs (Universal Resource Locators) that include information corresponding to the “sexual reproduction” search engine query. The URL 100 corresponds to a resource that provides content related to a nude beach. As shown in FIG. 2, when a Saudi resident attempts to retrieve nude beach URL 100 content from a network site, the system provides access based on Saudi Arabia regulations that prohibit Saudi folks from viewing content that includes naked bodies. Reject. The system is regulated (for example,
Provide an indication that a law, ordinance, rule, agreement, declaration or edict) has denied access to the system.

The system protects both the inhabitants who want to access the content and the carriers that transmit the content from responsibility. In addition, even in countries where the carrier does not have a duty to monitor the content, the carrier may use the system to self-regulate the content provided by the carrier, for example, to allow the carrier to provide services in that country. You can increase the appeal of your career to the government, such as when asking for help.

FIG. 3 shows a process 102 for controlling access to content based on regulations. The process 102 determines characteristics of the requested content (eg, degree of violence or nudity) (step 104), and determines the regulations (eg, state, country, national or international regulations) that apply to the request (step 104). Step 106),
Comparing the restrictions imposed by the applicable regulations with the characteristics of the requested content (step 108), providing access to the content if the content meets the applicable regulations (step 110), and If these restrictions are not met, this includes denying access to the content 112 in whole or in part (step 112). For example, the process 102 is illustrated in FIG.
As described with respect to and, the characteristics of the requested content may be determined, attributed to or obtained from the requesting user's nationality, and as described with respect to FIGS. Nationality may be used to access an encoded representation of the regulation.

Specifically, referring to FIG. 4, step 104 infers characteristics of the requested content from search terms, meta tags for search results, lists or services maintained to categorize the request, and the like. Can include: For example, the Recreational Software Advisory Council (R
The SAC assessment system 120 includes categories 122-128 (e.g., violence, nudity,
Sex and language) and category levels 130-138 (eg, 0-4
)including. The system divides content into categories 122-128 and levels 130-
By assigning it to 138, it can be used to represent content. Referring to FIG. 5, the network sites and their ratings are shown at 140. "Www.s
ex. The network site indicated by “com” is evaluated in accordance with the RSAC scheme including the level data of each RSAC category. The rating shown indicates that the network site 142 does not depict any violence 144 (ie, levels “0”, 138 of the violence category 122), but “provocates”.
"live display" 146 (i.e., levels "4", 130 in nude category 124), "explicit sexual"
acts) "148 (for example, level" 4 ", 13
0) and "vulgar language" 150 (e.g., level "4", 130 in language category 128). One or more additional categories may be utilized for other forms of evaluation.

The content need not be represented according to the RSAC rating scheme or other existing rating scheme. The rating system used may depend on the preferences of the common carrier. However, the use of a well-established scheme allows the system to use the existing majority of content ratings. The use of the RSAC scheme also allows for easy modification of the software that performs parental control to further enforce regulatory-based control. Preferably, software that allows a user to override parental control does not allow a user to override regulation-based control.

[0024] Content evaluation can be performed in many different ways. For example, one organization:
A human operator may retrieve information from different network resources and evaluate the retrieved information. Alternatively, some programs review content and automatically determine ratings based on those that include information about different categories (eg, words). Content ratings can be collected and stored in a database. Such a database may be centralized or distributed via different computers. Alternatively, the content rating may be stored at a network site that provides the rated content. These sites may transmit the rating along with the requested content and have the client or intermediary process the rating.

Referring to FIG. 6, determining applicable regulations (step 106) includes, for example, reviewing a user's billing address or accessing data such as a user's self-reported citizenship. This may include determining the user's citizenship (step 114). Determining the applicable regulation 106 may also or alternatively include determining the user's location, for example, by determining the access number the user dialed to connect to the service provider (step 116). . Based on this information, the system may determine the applicable regulations, for example, by consulting a look-up table.

Referring to FIG. 7, an exemplary look-up table 129 used, for example, in step 118 of FIG. 6, stores encoded representations of regulations for different national, international and regional entities. As illustrated, the table includes regulations that are encoded in accordance with the RSAC rating scheme. The table shows RSAC categories 160-1
The restriction is expressed as the maximum level or threshold of allowed content in each of the 68. If the content category rating exceeds the category threshold for the regulation, the content does not meet the regulation. For example, if the content is "moderate
A regulation that specifies that the language has more than “explains” (level 2 of the RSAC language category) is “a strong language or malicious language (s
strong language or hate speech) "(RSAC
Effectively prohibit access to content containing language category level 3). The regulation also states that "crude or vulgar language"
language) (level 4 of the RSAC language category).

Table 129 may include multiple rows where each jurisdiction encodes a different type of regulation (eg, 170-178). For example, Table 129 indicates that a jurisdiction (eg,
170) residents requesting content and out of jurisdiction (eg, 172)
May store regulations that manage content independently with the residents requesting the content.
Further, other regulations may independently regulate access by non-residents requesting content within their jurisdiction (eg, 174) and non-residents requesting content outside their jurisdiction (not shown). .

By comparing the rating of the requested content with one or more applicable regulations, the system may determine whether to deny or allow access to the content. For example, a U.S. resident reads "www.sex.com" from a computer in the United States.
When the content (FIG. 5) is requested, the system denies access.
Because the requested content's sex level (ie, level “4” in FIG. 5) exceeds the maximum sex level 138 allowed in the United States (ie, level “3” in FIG. 7). . In this example, if a U.S. resident makes the same request in another country, U.S. regulation 14
6 does not deny access. This is because the allowed sex level in other countries is "4", which is the same as the sex level in the requested content.

The regulation of more than one jurisdiction or entity may apply to requests for content. The system may handle different regulations and ensure content that meets all applicable regulations. For example, two regulations 176, 178 may apply to German residents traveling to Japan. The system ensures that the requested content meets both regulations 176, 178. If the traveler requests the content of FIG. 6, the system may access the Japanese content because the content includes nudity beyond “partially nudity” (eg, level “2” in nudity category 162). Denying access on the grounds that it violates regulations or that the content violates German regulations because the content may contain malicious language (content that exceeds level "2" of language category 166) Deny access based on evidence.

Referring to FIG. 8, the techniques described above may be incorporated into a proxy 184 or other intermediary that processes content requests. For example, technology may be provided by an Internet service provider.

As shown in FIG. 8, the proxy 184 sends a content request via a modem 182 or other communication device to a content source 186 (eg,
The content request received from the client 180 is processed by transmitting the response to the content source 186 and returning the response to the content source 186. As illustrated, different elements may be in different jurisdictions 188,190.
By including the regulation instructions 192 in the processing performed by the proxy 184, the proxy 184 may guarantee information returned in response to content requests that comply with applicable regulations. By centralizing regulation-based control on the proxy 184 or other intermediary, the user may be denied the ability to override the control, further protecting both the user and the common carrier.

As illustrated, the regulatory instructions 192 may access user data such as regulatory data 194 (eg, the table of FIG. 7), billing information 196 and content rating 198 data or instructions. Content ratings 198 may include a table that collects ratings of content available from different content sources 186 (eg, a table containing several records as shown by FIG. 5).

When the proxy 184 receives the content request or response, the proxy 184 determines the restrictions that apply to the requesting user, eg, the user's citizenship, or access location and content rating data 198 in the request. The determination can be made based on the evaluation corresponding to the content. If the content does not conform to the applicable regulations, proxy 184 may provide information indicating that proxy 184 will not transmit the requested content due to content restrictions (eg,
HTML instructions and data).

FIG. 8 is merely exemplary, and alternative embodiments may implement different systems or add or omit elements. For example, the content evaluation data 198
, The proxy 184 may receive the content rating with data provided by the content source 186 in response to the request. Moreover, the system may dynamically determine the characteristics of the requested content using software that reviews the content. In addition, the system provides the user data 196
Need not be stored; instead, the citizenship may be inferred based on the access location of the modem 182 or other communication device used for the client 180.

Referring to FIG. 9, the techniques described above are not limited to use with proxies or other intermediaries, but may belong to clients 180. As illustrated, regulatory order 1
92 accesses the regulation data 194 and the user data 196. The regulatory data 194 may be limited in scope or volume or less limited than the comprehensive list of regulations shown in FIG. For example, U.S. clients may only include regulations that apply to U.S. residents. Further, the user data 196 need not be stored, but can be obtained dynamically, for example, by querying the operating system registry. When the client 180 receives a response to the content request, the regulation instructions 192 may prevent presentation of information that does not comply with applicable regulations.

The methods and techniques described herein may be implemented in digital electronics or computer hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. Apparatus for implementing these techniques may include a computer program product tangibly embodied in a machine-readable storage device for execution on a suitable input / output device, computer processor, and programmable processor. Processes embodying these techniques may be performed by a programmable processor executing a program of instructions to manipulate input data and generate appropriate outputs to perform desired functions. The technique can be implemented in a programmable system that includes at least one programmable processor.
Advantageously implemented with one or more computer programs, the programmable processor receives data and instructions from and stores data and instructions in data storage systems, at least one input device, and at least one output device. Linked for transmission. Each computer program may be implemented in a high-level procedural language or object-oriented programming language, or, if desired, in assembly or machine language. And in any case, the language may be a compiled or interpreted language. Suitable processors include, for example, both general and special purpose microprocessors. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory and / or a random access memory. Suitable storage devices for explicitly embodying computer program instructions and data include, for example, semiconductor memory devices such as EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory devices, magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical disks and CDs. -Includes all forms of non-volatile memory, including ROM disks. All of the foregoing can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, specially-designed ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits).

A number of embodiments of the invention have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
For example, the assignments of functions and components need not be as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 8 or 9, but instead are assigned on any number of computers or networks. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a screenshot of a list of URLs (Universal Resource Locators) provided by a search engine.

FIG. 2 is a screenshot of a display showing that access to requested content has been denied based on applicable restrictions.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a process for controlling access to requested content based on one or more regulations.

FIG. 4 is a table of categories and category levels describing content.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of data describing content.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a process for determining a restriction applied to a content request.

FIG. 7 is a regulation table.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a proxy that processes client requests for content.

FIG. 9 is an illustration of a client denying access to requested content based on one or more restrictions.

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Claims (29)

[Claims] 1. A method of controlling access to content, the method comprising: accessing content information representing the requested content; and representing at least one restriction on the requested content and geographic information. A method comprising: accessing regulation information; and determining whether the content information satisfies the at least one regulation. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising denying access to the requested content if it is determined that the content information does not meet the at least one restriction. 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: granting access to the requested content if the content information is determined to satisfy the at least one restriction. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the content information wraps a content rating, and accessing the content information includes accessing a content rating.
The method described in. 5. The content rating includes data corresponding to one or more of violence, nudity, sex, and language, and the step of accessing the content information includes at least one of violence, nudity, sex, and language. 5. The method of claim 4, including accessing the corresponding data. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing the content information comprises accessing a database containing information of different content. 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a content request, wherein accessing the content information comprises accessing information included in a response to the content request. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing the restriction information comprises determining one or more restrictions on the requested content. 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a content request, wherein accessing the regulatory information comprises accessing information relating to a user sending the content request. 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein determining one or more of the applicable regulations comprises determining the citizenship of a user requesting the content.
The method described in. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein determining the citizenship comprises accessing a billing address of a user sending the content request. 12. The method of claim 9, wherein determining any applicable restrictions comprises determining an access number used by a user sending the content request. 13. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing the regulatory information comprises accessing one or more of national, international and regional regulations. 14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the step of accessing the regulatory information comprises:
2. The method of claim 1, comprising accessing one or more of an agreement, declaration, or edict. 15. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing the regulatory information comprises accessing regulations that apply to residents in a jurisdiction. 16. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing the regulatory information comprises accessing regulations that apply to residents outside a jurisdiction. 17. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing the regulatory information comprises accessing regulations that apply to non-residents in a jurisdiction. 18. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing the content information comprises accessing one or more of text, graphics, animation, audio, video, and instructions. 19. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing the content information comprises accessing one or more of hypertext markup language instructions, extended markup language instructions, and moving picture expert group data. The described method. 20. The step of determining whether the information representing the requested content satisfies the at least one restriction determines whether the content information satisfies all of the at least one restriction. The method of claim 1, comprising the step of: 21. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a request for the requested content. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein receiving the request comprises receiving the request at a proxy. 23. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing an indication that access has been denied if the content information does not meet the restrictions. 24. A method of controlling access to requested content available on the Internet, the method comprising: receiving a request for content; and accessing a content rating representing the requested content. Accessing information representative of at least one restriction on geographical information about the requester; determining whether the content information satisfies the at least one restriction; Denying access to the requested content if it is determined that the content information does not satisfy one of the restrictions; and requesting the content if the content information is determined to satisfy the at least one restriction. Granting access to the method. 25. A computer program, located on a computer readable medium, for controlling access to requested content, wherein the computer program converts content information representing content requested by a processor. Access to regulatory information representing at least one restriction on the requested content and geographic information; and determining whether the content information satisfies the at least one restriction. Computer programs, including: 26. The computer program according to claim 25, further comprising an instruction to cause the processor to deny access to the requested content when it is determined that the content information does not satisfy the regulation. 27. The content information comprises a content rating.
Computer program described in 1. 28. The instructions of claim 25, wherein instructions for causing the processor to determine which of one or more restrictions to apply include instructions for causing the processor to determine the citizenship of a user who has requested the content. Computer programs. 29. The computer program of claim 25, further comprising instructions for causing a processor to receive the request for the content.