Patent ID: 7100053

Claim:
A method for managing access to content by a user, said method comprising the steps of: receiving entries for a plurality of authority-designated settings from a plurality of allowable authorities to said particular user at a portable data storage medium associated with said particular user, wherein said plurality of authority-designated settings designate levels of access to particular types of content; transmitting said plurality of authority-designated settings from said portable data storage medium to a plurality of authority-enabled systems, wherein each of said plurality of authority-enabled systems controls access to at least one type of content; receiving and storing at said portable data storage medium an indication of authorization for said particular user to said at least one type of content controlled by one of said plurality of authority-enabled systems, such that authorization for content to said particular user is monitored at said portable data storage medium; and filtering said plurality of authority-designated settings at a portable computer system comprising said portable data storage medium such that only a filtered selection from among said plurality of authority-designated settings are transmittable to said plurality of authority-enabled systems.