1995-1996: The CDA and PICS

This philosophy of Internet independence and individual control was engaged in Washington:

• The CDA made it a felony to knowingly expose a minor to "indecent" material over the Net.
• PICS was a meta-data technology (among others) that permitted narrower means of limiting children's access without infringing adults' rights. The Supreme Court finds these arguments compelling.

However, Lawrence Lessig and others begin to ask, what if this personal tool becomes the infrastructure and prone to abuse? "PICS is the Devil."

W3C posts a Statement on Public Policy:

"The philosophy of independence and individual control was engaged in Washington. This architecture must allow local policies to co-exist without cultural fragmentation or domination..."

and Statement on the Intent and Use of PICS: Using PICS Well, which recommends explicit labelling, transparency, localized control, and multiple rating systems.