UK Wants to Rate Sites Like Movies

Andy Burnham, the United Kingdom's Culture Secretary is seeking to negotiate a deal with incoming U.S. president elect Barack Obama to put in place a rating system for all English language websites. Burnham has tossed around a few ideas for policing the internet, but the film rating idea is the one he seems to have landed on.

In an interview Burnham gave to the Daily Telegraph, Burnham states, "If you look back at the people who created the Internet they talked very deliberately about creating a space that governments couldn't reach. I think we are having to revisit that stuff seriously now."

This could spark a serious debate over freedom of speech rights in the months to come. They have proposed a mandatory "take down" policy if sites like Facebook, or Myspace's users post inappropriate content.

Burnham also commented on modifying UK libel laws to give users access to legal assistance if they are defamed online.

ISPs may be forced to offer internet services where the only sites available would be those deemed suitable for children.

From looking at the transcripts, Burnham clearly just doesn't understand how the internet works and is trying to fit TV's "after 9pm" model onto the internet, which just isn't remotely possible.

Wake up, Man! This is the internets!