Abstract:
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for controlling user access to websites. A user profile is stored for each user. The profile includes a restriction requirement. Each accessible website has an associated restriction rating. If a user tries to access a website, the restriction requirement of the user is compared with the restriction rating of the website; access is only allowed if the result of the comparison indicates that access is allowable. Advantageously, this arrangement permits users to define the restriction requirement to be met by the restriction rating of websites to which the user is allowed access.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0001]     This invention relates to a method and apparatus for controlling access to different websites on the Internet.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The Internet gives customers connected to an Internet service provider access via the Internet to a multiplicity of different websites. The websites can accept commands from the customer store data such as the data associated with customer purchases, and deliver content back to the customer such as text or video.  
         [0003]     A problem of the prior art is that there is no good way of controlling access to different websites including websites offering video or text that is unsuitable for children/teenagers.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     Applicants have carefully studied this problem and have concluded that what is required is a system for controlling access to individual websites based on a customer profile of the requesting customer and a content restriction rating of each accessible website. Accordingly, Applicants have made a contribution over the teachings of the prior art in accordance with their invention wherein an Internet service provider comprises or has access to a database containing a user profile for each customer and an access restriction rating for each website; when a customer provides the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or file name, the Internet service provider checks whether the restriction rating of the requested website is consistent with the restriction requirement of the requesting customer, if the restriction requirement and the restriction rating of the website are consistent, i.e., the restriction rating is within the limits allowed for the requesting customer, then the connection to the website can be established; otherwise it is blocked. Advantageously, different customers with different restriction requirements permit different customers to have access to different subsets of the set of websites accessible via the Internet.  
         [0005]     In accordance with one aspect of the invention, different users from one terminal are identified by different logins so that, for example, a child user can be identified by the Internet service provider and distinguished from an adult user that owns a primary account/login. Advantageously, the access to the websites can be differentially controlled for different users of one terminal by associating different user profiles with different logins of a particular customer terminal.  
         [0006]     In order to implement Applicants&#39; invention each website must have an associated restriction rating. In accordance with one feature of Applicants&#39; invention a website can have a plurality of restriction ratings each associated with a different subset of the content stored in the website. Each subset is identified by a different URL. Then if the Internet service provider transmits the restriction code for the requester, the Internet service provider can determine whether or not the request accompanying the access message can be honored. Advantageously, a single website can contain a plurality of restricted content levels.  
         [0007]     In accordance with another feature of Applicants&#39; invention, a restriction requirement can include a time of day and/or day of the week restriction. Advantageously, for example, access to games provided on a website can be denied to the children or teenagers of the household after a bedtime limit.  
         [0008]     In accordance with one feature of Applicants&#39; invention, the ability to change the user profile of an account is restricted to one or more selected logins of a particular customer. Advantageously, for example, only the parents can change the restriction privileges of their children and not vice versa.  
         [0009]     In accordance with another feature of Applicants&#39; invention, a global restriction list can be provided so that no user of a particular Internet service provider, with the possible exception of a suitably privileged government user, can access certain websites. Advantageously, particularly obnoxious websites cannot be accessed by any customer of that Internet service provider.  
         [0010]     In accordance with one feature of Applicants&#39; invention, the website stores the restriction rating. The absence of a restriction rating is considered to be a default attribute which is that access to the website has no restrictions. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0011]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating the operation of Applicants&#39; invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is a flow diagram illustrating the processing of a web access request from a user; and  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of a request from a user to access the user profile. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0014]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating the operation of Applicants&#39; invention. A customer at customer equipment  1  is connected via the public switched telephone and wireless network  3  to an Internet service provider  11 , and thence to the Internet  5 . The customer equipment can be a land line, in which case only the public switched telephone network is used for accessing the Internet, or it can be a wireless terminal, in which case the public switched wireless network is used to access the public switched telephone network, and thence to connect to the Internet service provider. The wireline network can provide access via a 1-800 number, via a digital subscriber line (DSL), via a cable modem. Wireless access can be provided via WiFi (Wireless Fidelity), WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), WLAN (Wireless Local-Area Network) or WAP (Wireless Application Protocol). The means for accessing the Internet service provider are well known in the prior art.  
         [0015]     The customer sends messages to the Internet service provider (ISP)  11  identifying the website which is to be accessed by means of the URL of that website. At the ISP, a processor  17  accesses a database  13  of the ISP to find the customer profile  15  of the calling customer. The Internet service provider then accesses the requested website  21  via the Internet  5  in order to obtain the restriction rating  23  of that website. The Internet Service provider can also query an independent server which supplies rating of websites to obtain the rating of the website the end user requesting; or, the internet Service provider database can store ratings for some of websites. When this restriction rating is returned to the Internet service provider, the processor  17  compares the restriction rating of the website with the restriction requirement for the calling customer; if the restriction rating of the website is such that the restriction requirement from the customer profile would permit access (for the sake of convenience, this is being referred to as “allowable”), then the Internet service provider causes a connection to the website to be established from the ISP. A default restriction rating for a website can be a universally allowable restriction rating.  
         [0016]     If the result of the comparison of the customer restriction requirement and the website restriction rating indicates that a connection is not allowable, the customer is informed by a message from the Internet service provider to indicate that the connection cannot be established.  
         [0017]     An example of a set of restrictions is the rating system for motion pictures. The ratings are: G (General (for all audiences)); PG (Parental Guidance suggested); PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned, because film contains material inappropriate for children under 13); R (Restricted to adults and to children under 17 accompanied by a parent or guardian); and NC-17 (no children under 17 admitted). This form of restriction is monotonic in the sense that each successive rating is more restrictive than the one before. A parent might restrict a child from downloading any film with a rating below (more restrictive than) PG. It is also quite possible to have a non-monotonic restriction series. For example, a new rating, V for excessive violence, could be applied to films otherwise given any rating (except, presumably G). In that case, a parent might restrict a child from downloading any film with this rating, in addition to films with a rating of R or NC-17. The invention can be used with monotonic or non-monotonic restriction requirements.  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of Applicants&#39; invention. An Internet service provider receives a request from the user (action block  201 ). The request includes an identification (URL) of the website for which action is requested. The Internet service provider accesses the user profile of the requesting customer to obtain user restriction requirements for that customer (action block  203 ). The Internet service provider then accesses the web destination restriction rating for the requested URL (action block  205 ). Test  207  is used to determine whether the web destination is globally restricted. In one preferred embodiment, a list of globally restricted URLs is maintained by the Internet service provider. If so, then access to the web destination is blocked and the caller is informed (action block  221 ). If the web destination is not globally restricted, then test  209  is used to determine whether the user restriction requirement of the primary account of the user indicates that access to the website is allowable. If the result of test  209  indicates that it is not allowable, then action block  221 , previously described, which blocks access to the web destination and informs the caller is executed. If the user restriction of the primary account does indicate an allowable access, then test  211  is used to determine whether the user is a non-primary account (for example is the account of a child or not the parent of the owner of the customer terminal). If the user is a primary account, then a connection to the web destination is established (action block  223 ). If the user is a non-primary account (for example, a child of the primary customer) then test  213  is used to determine whether the user restriction rating of the non-primary account allows for access to the web destination. If not, then action block  221 , previously described, is executed. If access is allowed as a result of test  213 , then connection is established (action block  223 , previously described).  
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of modifying the user profile. If a request is received to access the user profile and the request is received from the service provider (action block  301 ), then the access request is accepted (action block  307 ). This request might be made when a customer initially receives the service. If the user profile access request is received from a user (action block  303 ), then test  305  is used to determine whether the request is from a user authorized to access the user profile. If the request is from such an authorized user, then the request is accepted (action block  307 ), and the authorized user can be steered, via conventional menu methods, to enter the restriction requirement, and the identity of the user for whom the restriction requirement is to be applied in the user profile. If the request is not from an authorized user (for example, from a child in a household in which a parent has been designated as the authorized user) then the user profile access request is rejected (action block  309 ).  
         [0020]     The above description is of one preferred embodiment of Applicants&#39; invention. Other embodiments will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The invention is limited only by the attached claims.