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W3C's plans for metatags could let browsers filter out content

New Media Age (NMA), 20 February 2006

Web standards organisation W3C is introducing new machine-readable content labels that will make it possible to filter search results on the basis of whether sites are accessible or suitable for children.

W3C has announced what it calls an incubator group, known as WCL-XG, to develop a common vocabulary for labelling content. The aim is to create a system of tags that search engines or browsers can understand and then decide on appropriate action.

Filtering according to these new tags could create both opportunities and threats for site owners.

For example, sites could be penalised if search engines and browsers were set to return results only for sites where text size could be adjusted.

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On the other hand, if the Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA) were to adopt machine-readable Trustmarks then advertisers targeting teenagers could find their sites automatically excluded unless they were registered on the ICRA metadata.

Paul Walsh, CEO of testing and accreditation company Segala, said the system should provide Webmasters with further incentives to upgrade their site accessibility.

It gives the industry the financial carrot it has been after, he said. If search engines and browsers did this, you could spend a lot of money on organic search optimisation which would be completely fruitless if people were able to filter out your site.

The WCL-XG group is sponsored by ICRA, the Athens-based Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications, Segala, T-Online, Vodafone, Yahoo! and @semantics.

Google hasn't yet endorsed the WCL-XG. However, it's a co-editor of the parallel W3C Mobile Web Initiative Trustmark, called MobileOK.

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