Microsoft has signed a licensing agreement with the Internet Content Rating Association, who produce a content labeling framework to enable Web filters and voluntary content blockers.
The current version of ICRAplus, produced by the Association, is an implementation of the W3C's Resource Description Framework (RDF), which is an XML framework for describing in general terms the content of documents. This content enables screening systems, such as filters in users' Web browsers, to block the display of documents whose content labels match listings in their exclusion policies. Such a system would give the producers of questionable content a way to tag themselves with "XXX" or another codeword, in order to trigger exclusions in the Web browsers of schools, libraries, and conscientious parents.
The system would permit, for example, adult content providers to make themselves "filter-friendly." But the system can also be used to give search engines a clearer idea of the nature of document content as well.