ISP Peddles Parental Peace of Mind

Intelligently filtered Net access is the centerpiece offering of new national provider this.com. The market? About 9 million 5-to-12-year-olds today, with millions more to come.

by Patricia Fusco ISP-Planet Managing Editor [July 27, 1999]

What do William Bennett, former U.S. Secretary of Education, Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and Ralph Reed, former executive director of the Christian Coalition have in common?

All three want to make the World Wide Web a safer place for kids, and all have heralded the launch of this.com's filtered Internet access as a safe haven for families.

Although filtering software and censorship options are readily available to Internet users from a variety of sources, this.com is touting its service as the nation's first ISP dedicated to maintaining a G rating for general audiences.

Small consumers, big market
Brad Daniel, this.com president and CEO, last week announced that the national ISP was ready to make the Internet a safe place for young surfers—one of the fastest growing segments of the Internet market.

"Children are the largest growing group of Internet users today," Daniel said. "Currently, there are nearly 9 million children between the ages of 5 and 12 who access the Internet. That number is expected to rise to 77 million by 2005."

Daniel said that this.com was borne of a need to provide children with G-rated Internet access, which in turn would provide parents with peace of mind while their kids are online.

"Our research led us to the fact that there was no adequate solutions available to shield kids from the pornography, hate, and violence that permeates the Internet. That's why we created this.com."

Distinguished directors
this.com's board of directors includes William Bennett, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, and Ralph Reed, each equally dedicated to providing a kinder, gentler Internet experience for young Americans.

William Bennet, former U.S. secretary of education and author of The Book of Virtues, said the Internet is becoming a part of children's daily routine and parents should not be afraid to let them do their homework online.

"The Internet is fast becoming as much a part of our children's lives as television or films," Bennet said. "Many go online each day communicating with friends, doing their homework, playing interactive games, or simply exploring the world around them. We must protect our children from indecent material and hate mongers who use the Internet to traffic their poison."

Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, is an expert on the Internet and an author of Digital Hate 2000. The book is an extensive compilation detailing the dramatic emergence of hate mongering on the Internet.

Rabbi Cooper said that parents simply don't have the time or the know-how to monitor their children's Internet experience, but that this.com was a tool parents could embrace.

"Many adults are ill-equipped or don't have the time to monitor their kids' online activities, and with 40 percent of America's households run by single women, parents need all the help we can give them to block the promotion of hate and terrorism into their homes."

Ralph Reed, president of Century Strategies and former executive director of the Christian Coalition, said making the Internet family-friendly is a priority for parents, children and ISPs alike.

"American families want to discover the power of the Internet, but to do so in a way that protects their children," Reed said. "Young people are extremely vulnerable to dangerous influences on the Internet, and this.com has made safeguarding them its top priority."

A thousand points of presence
This.com is more than just a family-friendly portal; it operates as a true national ISP, offering nationwide Internet access from more than 1,000 POPs in the U.S. and Canada. The premium service is offered for a premium fee—just less than $22 each month.

Robust this.com servers filter out unwanted web sites and can employ advanced technology to pre-view every page passing through the server. The this.com filters make intelligent decisions based on a combination of words, images, and other criteria before the pages are served to members.

During the next several months this.com plans to phase in original content to their web site making it not only an effective filter for other destinations, but also a kid-safe destination in itself.

Channel plans
Daniel said that this.com plans to add an array of entertaining and educational channels to the this.com web site.

"We plan to add Jeffrey Lyons' movie reviews, teaching children about money and its responsible use through Cyber Allowance and Cyber Stock links, customized shopping, kid-safe chat rooms, interactive games, educational programs and much more."

Daniel said that by filtering out undesirable sites and constantly updating good programming, this.com would remain fresh and relevant to both parents and kids.

"No one else combines our sophisticated filtering process, with the depth of our highly experienced management team, and the high level of premium, original content all in one ISP."

—End