Leading European On-line Information Service to Protect Consumers by Adopting RSAC Internet Content Advisory System

Paris, France -- May 9, 1996 -- CompuServe Europe today announced that, beginning July 1, it will use the RSACi content-labeling advisory system to rate its content. Also at today's Fifth International World Wide Web Conference here, CompuServe Europe said that it will encourage its third-party content providers to use the RSACi rating system. RSACi, or RSAC on the Internet, is the objective, content-labeling advisory system for the Internet created by the Recreational Software Advisory Council (RSAC), an independent, non-profit organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts (US).

In addition to rating its own content, CompuServe Europe will provide its 600,000 members with access to RSACi through Microsystems' CyberPatrol blocking software. This will enable consumers to set the levels as to what kind of material they choose to experience on the Internet.

At today's press event, members of the on-line industry -- including Microsoft, Netscape, CompuServe and AOL -- rallied to show their support for the PICS (Platform for Internet Content Selection) initiative, an open industry standard that gives consumers the ability to filter out content they might find offensive. RSAC has been an enthusiastic supporter of the PICS standard, which allows the RSACi rating system to be read by browsers and selection software around the world. Microsoft's US division announced on February 29 that it will use the RSACi system in Internet Explorer 3.0.

"When you recall that it was only four months ago that the International Internet community was struggling to retain an open Internet in the face of illegal pornographic content, this relationship signals just how quickly the industry has responded to the threat of government intervention," said Stephen Balkam, Executive Director of RSAC. "We're thrilled to be involved in such a broad-based, international campaign to provide consumers with a viable means by which they can set the levels as to what they and their children experience on the Internet."

"As the PICS standard will allow people to make their own choices about what they 'watch' on-line, we see today's news as a positive step towards establishing a shared responsibility between ourselves, our content providers, and our members," said Andrew Gray, CompuServe's European General Manager. "Far from resulting in censorship, this should help to eradicate the need for it and to distinguish between the medium and the message. As we fully expect to double our membership within the next 12 months, it is vital that we have in place a system that empowers CompuServe's European members to make their own decisions about content -- whether they be parents, students, or Internet enthusiasts."

RSACi, or RSAC on the Internet, empowers parents and consumers to make informed choices about what they and their children experience both on the Internet and on-line services. The RSACi rating system is a fully-automated, paperless system that relies on a quick, easy-to-use questionnaire that the Web master completes at RSAC's home page [http://www.rsac.org]. The questionnaire runs through a series of highly specific questions about the level, nature and intensity of the sex, nudity, violence or offensive language (vulgar or hate-motivated) found within the Web master's site.

Once completed, the questionnaire is then submitted electronically to the RSAC Web Server, which tabulates the results and produces the html advisory tags that the Web master then places on their Web site/page. A standard Internet browser, or blocking device that has been configured to read the RSACi system can recognize these tags, enabling parents who use the browser to either allow or restrict their children's access to any single rating or combination of ratings.

The original RSAC rating system was developed in September 1994 by a team of academics, psychologists and educators, in direct response to the threat of congressional legislation in the United States that sought to control levels of violence in the computer game market. To date, RSAC has rated more than 400 rated titles with over 100 companies. With the recent passage of US federal legislation prohibiting the transmittal of offensive, or indecent, materials over the Internet or on-line service, RSAC has extended this proven ratings system to the Internet (RSACi) to provide consumers with objective detail regarding Web site content. RSAC's system is now under evaluation as a possible solution to the current debate in the United States over television programming content disclosure and use of the v-chip.

About CompuServe Founded in 1969, CompuServe Incorporated provides the world's most comprehensive online services, business network and Internet access. Through CompuServe, more than 4.7 million home and business users in 147 countries access the Internet and 3,000 plus access online information, education and entertainment services and products. In addition, more than 950 corporate customers use CompuServe's value-added network solutions. Among its many uses, the CompuServe-owned network serves as the world's mailbox and check-out lane, hosting 40 million e-mail messages/month and more than one billion point-of-sale transactions/year. With world headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, CompuServe's 60 offices include European centres in Munich, London, Utrecht and Paris. CompuServe members requiring further information should contact the CompuServe customer support line on 0800 000400. To join CompuServe call 0800 000200.

The Recreational Software Advisory Council (RSAC) is an independent, non-profit organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, that empowers the public, especially parents, to make informed decisions about electronic media by means of an open, objective, content advisory system. RSAC's system provides consumers with information about the level of sex, nudity, violence, offensive language (vulgar or hate-motivated) in software games and Web sites. To date, RSACi has been licensed by Microsoft for use in Internet Explorer 3.0, SurfWatch Software, and Microsystems' CyberPatrol Software.

For more information, visit RSAC's home page at http://www.rsac.org, or CompuServe's home page at http://www.compuserve.com.