[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 108 (Friday, June 4, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31590-31591]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-12651]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and Information Administration


Kids.us Forum: Developing a Safe Place on the Internet for 
Children

AGENCY:  National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 
U.S. Department of Commerce

ACTION:  Notice of Public Meeting

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SUMMARY:  The National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration (NTIA), U.S. Department of Commerce, will host a half-
day forum, entitled ``The kids.us Internet Domain: Developing a Safe 
Place on the Internet for Children.'' The forum will address the 
current state of the kids.us domain and future content and applications 
for the space.

DATES: The Kids.us Forum will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. on 
Wednesday, July 14, 2004.

ADDRESSES: The Kids.us Forum will be held at the U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room 4830, Washington, D.C. 
(Entrance to the Department of Commerce is on 14th Street between 
Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Sallianne Schagrin, Office of Policy 
Analysis and Development, NTIA, at (202) 482-1880, or electronic mail: 
[email protected]. Please direct media inquiries to the Office of 
Public Affairs, NTIA, at (202) 482-7002.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: According to NTIA's 2002 report, A Nation 
Online, almost 60 percent of American children between the ages of 5 
and 17 use the Internet. Ninety-nine percent of public schools in the 
United States had access to the Internet according to the U.S. 
Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics as 
of fall 2002.

[[Page 31591]]

    Internet access has benefitted children enormously by giving them 
new research tools and information sources, new avenues of expression, 
expanded and more collaborative learning opportunities, and connections 
to other communities. Parents want the Internet to be a place where 
children can access educational material and enjoy their experiences. 
Unfortunately, Internet access can also potentially expose children to 
unsafe content.
    On December 4, 2002, President Bush signed into law HR 3833, the 
Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002 (Dot Kids Act), 
giving parents and educators an additional tool to help protect 
children from these dangers. The Dot Kids Act required the Department 
of Commerce to modify the management of the .us country code top level 
domain to establish kids.us, a safe space on the Internet for our 
nation's children. The law also required NTIA to publicize the 
availability of the new domain and to educate parents regarding using 
the kids.us domain in combination with blocking and filtering 
technologies.
    NTIA amended its contract with NeuStar, Inc., the private sector 
company which manages the .us country code top level domain, to 
establish kids.us and to monitor sites in the domain space for content 
and safety. NeuStar ensures that all content on kids.us websites is 
suitable for children under 13 years of age. Moreover, interactive 
services or hyperlinks that take a user outside of the kids.us domain 
are prohibited.
    NeuStar launched general registrations for domain names in kids.us 
on September 4, 2003, and established a portal at www.kids.us to 
highlight websites in the space. Currently, kids.us is home to thirteen 
active websites. These websites showcase information about arts and 
entertainment, computers and technology, sports and recreation, science 
and government, and much more.
    The purpose of the Kids.us Forum is to bring together technology 
experts, community and children's advocates, parents and educators and 
other interested parties to discuss the potential of the kids.us 
domain, and to assist would be users of the domain and prospective 
content providers in fulfilling their goals with the domain. The forum 
will consist of two panel discussions. The first panel will address the 
current state of kids.us, current uses of kids.us by parents and 
educators, future content and applications for kids.us, how kids.us can 
meet the needs of communities, and the interrelationship between 
kids.us and filtering and blocking technology, as well as other future 
technologies. Panelists will include representatives from online child-
safety organizations, Congress, community groups, Internet filtering 
and blocking technology providers, and hardware and software 
developers. The second panel will address the process of developing a 
site in the kids.us domain, as well as lessons learned from current 
content providers, challenges for future content providers, and the 
resources available to assist would be content providers. Panelists 
will include representatives from current and prospective providers of 
content within the kids.us domain, foundations, and technology 
companies.
    More information on the Kids.us Forum will be available on NTIA's 
web site at www.ntia.doc.gov/kidsdotusforum.
    PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: The Kids.us Forum will be open to the public 
and press on a first-come, first-served basis. Space is limited. Due to 
security requirements and to facilitate entry to the Department of 
Commerce building, attendees must present photo identification and/or a 
U.S. Government building pass, if applicable, and should arrive at 
least one-half hour ahead of the panel sessions. The public meeting is 
physically accessible to people with disabilities. Any member of the 
public wishing to attend and requiring special services, such as sign 
language interpretation or other ancillary aids, should contact 
Sallianne Schagrin at (202) 482-1880 or at [email protected] at 
least three (3) days prior to the meeting.

    Dated: May 28, 2004.
Kathy D. Smith,
Chief Counsel, National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 04-12651 Filed 6-3-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-60-S