Japanese Mobile Content Providers Agree on Rating System

Japanese mobile content providers have joined together to create a set of safety guidelines in order to protect minors, according to MocoNews—following a June killing spree that left seven dead by a young man who used his handset to blog about his plans.

Mobile web sites, popular in Japan, “must agree to 22 rules—including monitoring postings and reporting any suspicious messages to the police—in order to get a label showing they are suitable for minors.” The report said that mobile content companies have been heavily criticized following Tomohiro Kato‘s attacks, as a growing number of people have used mobile websites to arrange mass suicides, or to blog about their crime plans. “Kato, for instance, posted hundreds of messages, and finally acted when it turned out he had been ignored online.”

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