The IIA Family Friendly filter program has been reviewed and qualification as an IIA Family Friendly Filter has been broken up into different classification codes. Unclassified – ACMA Prohibited URL Filter (PUF) – recommended for 18+ years of age.

 Class 1 – recommended for children over 15 years of age

Class 2 – recommended for children between 10 and 15 years of age

Class 3 – recommended for children under 10 years of age

Three filters that have recently been approved to join the program are OptusISS, PureSight Owl 2011.0.3129 and OpenDNS. Congratulations to IIA members F-Secure for achieving Classification 2 for Optus ISS and to and Northern Territory Library for nominating OpenDNS to join the program and thereby be available to internet users in remote indigenous communities in the Northern Territory. PureSight Owl has achieved Classification 3

To retain the qualification as an IIA Family Friendly Filter, a filter must undergo periodic independent testing to ensure it meets the criteria set out in the IIA Codes. These criteria include effectiveness, ease of use, configurability, availability of support and an agreement by the company providing the filter to update the filter as required by ACMA, for example, where ACMA determines, following a complaint, that a specified site is prohibited under Australian law.

Further information about the IIA Family Friendly Program can be found here.