Age ratings

Age rating “0 years and over”

In the “0 years and over” age group, the JusProgDNS filter is set to a very strict level. Almost exclusively, only those websites listed on the children’s search engine fragFINN – which is supervised by media educators – are displayed.

Following manual review, JusProg has added a number of websites, including international ones, and has also enabled so-called ‘functional domains’ for this age group, without which the children’s pages could not be accessed properly.

The browsing environment for the ‘0 years and over’ age group is very secure, but rather small compared to the vastness of the internet. This age group is primarily intended for parents who wish to provide their young child with extra protection and are willing to accept a few restrictions in return.

For primary schools and many nurseries, the ‘0 years and over’ age group is only suitable to a limited extent, as, for example, Wikipedia is also blocked within it.

In the ‘0 years and over’ age group, domains unknown to the system are blocked. As many software applications on a computer or apps on a smartphone or tablet also ‘communicate with their servers via the internet’ in order to function properly, it must be expected that, in the ‘0 years and over’ age group, some functions of the device and the applications installed on it may no longer work correctly.

Age rating ‘6 years and over’

The browsing area for the ‘6 years and over’ age group is significantly larger than that for the ‘0 years and over’ group, but is still very safe. Only websites that have been pre-approved by JusProg are displayed.

The ‘6 and over’ age group includes all websites from the children’s search engine fragFINN, as well as many thousands more websites that JusProg e.V. has manually approved. These websites are not necessarily designed specifically for children, but if your child visits them, the JusProg rating team considers that this will not hinder their development. We apply a classification system similar to that used by the FSK for cinema films: a film rated ‘6 and over’ is not necessarily recommended for children, but it does not harm them either.

Our criteria for age classification are slightly less strict than, for example, those of fragFINN. We want your child to be able to explore the internet as freely as possible (whilst still being well protected), without constantly coming across blocked sites. Some examples:

• JusProg, for instance, has unblocked Wikipedia for the ‘aged 6 and over’ category, even though the popular online encyclopaedia contains illustrated entries on genitalia.
• In JusProg-6, all websites of the Bundesliga football clubs are accessible, even though some of the clubs advertise gambling or beer brands on their players’ shirts and feature the corresponding images and sponsor logos on their websites as well.
• In the case of large portals with predominantly unproblematic content, we weigh up the risks. News sites that frequently display images from, for example, war zones are generally blocked by default in JusProg-6. However, we usually unblock regional news websites – which only very rarely feature problematic images – for children aged 6 and over. (Tip: As a registered user of JusProgDNS, you can unblock blocked domains yourself for your child)
• We also take a balanced approach with websites relating to computer games. Many websites contain information and game videos (so-called ‘Let’s Play’ videos) for games across a wide range of age ratings, as well as various types of browser games. If there are only a few potentially problematic videos or games on the site, we usually allow access to them for JusProg-6 users anyway. If the games are more violent or explicit, the websites are assigned a higher age rating.
• YouTube, Google, Bing and several other major sites are set to Safe Mode by default on JusProgDNS, but are permitted for children aged 6 and over. With SafeSearch, the providers themselves filter out problematic content, such as horror videos on YouTube or pornographic images in Google and Bing’s image search. However, given the multi-million pieces of content on these portals, the automated checks do occasionally let something slip through.

In addition to the website domains included in the ‘aged 6 and over’ category, we have also manually checked thousands of so-called ‘functional domains’ and approved them for ‘aged 6 and over’. These types of domains operate, so to speak, in the background and provide elements for the website being accessed, without which it could not be displayed correctly – for example, fonts, sometimes images, adverts and technical controls. If these functional domains were not approved, in many cases the loading of a website would be significantly slowed down, as web browsers would, so to speak, have to wait a certain amount of time for the data to be delivered.

From the ‘6 years and over’ age rating onwards, our real-time check – known as ‘on-the-fly’ age classification (OTF) – is also enabled by default. If your child visits a website previously unknown to our system, it will undergo a quick check. Depending on the result, the website will then either be displayed or blocked. If the OTF quick check is unable to reach a decision, the website will still be blocked in the ‘6 years and over’ age category as a precaution.

Automatic unblocking for the ‘6 years and over’ category also takes place to a limited extent for functional domains where technical checks have shown that they do not themselves contain any internet content, but are solely responsible for the functionality of other websites.

As a result, the ‘6 years and over’ age rating is very safe, but not entirely without the risk that a child might occasionally come across content on the internet that is unsuitable for them. On the other hand, it allows them to discover the wonderful aspects of the internet without frequently encountering websites that have been unnecessarily blocked. The browsing space is also sufficient for primary school homework.

The ‘6 years and over’ age group is also well suited to primary schools, nurseries and other institutions and organisations where children up to around 12 years of age use the internet.

Age rating “12 years and over”

The “12 years and over” age rating group offers a significantly wider range of websites than the “6 years and over” age group. On the one hand, many additional domains have been manually unblocked (e.g. in the games section), but above all, the mode changes from 12 years of age onwards with JusProgDNS: Websites unknown to the system are displayed by default.

This makes the ‘12 and over’ age group slightly less secure, but a minor browsing normally will rarely encounter restrictions (blocked websites), and even complex homework assignments can be completed without restriction in the ‘12 and over’ age group.

Thanks to the real-time filtering (On-the-fly Filter, OTF) enabled by default, even unusual websites containing, for example, pornographic content are generally detected and blocked. Nevertheless, sooner or later your child will come across an unauthorised website if they search for it deliberately and with a bit of persistence. OTF can also be disabled.

However, access to popular social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook is restricted – these are only enabled on JusProg from the age of 16. We, too, realise that there is hardly a child aged 12 or over who would want to do without social media. But we would like parents and children to discuss rules and security settings on these platforms together, and ideally set them up jointly, before you then add Instagram, Facebook or similar sites to our whitelist for your child.

As functional domains are also accessible in the ‘12 and over’ age group, browsing is generally faster and smoother.

For parents who want to restrict their children’s internet use as little as possible whilst still ensuring good protection, the ‘12 and over’ age group is a good choice.

The ‘12 and over’ age group is also suitable for secondary schools and other further education institutions, libraries and youth centres where minors have access to computers or are permitted to use the Wi-Fi.

Age rating ‘16 and over’

The ‘16 and over’ age rating is primarily intended for parents and carers who wish to filter out ‘explicit content’ such as pornography and graphic violence for minors, whilst otherwise allowing children and young people to enjoy as unrestricted a browsing experience as possible.

Many parents of significantly younger children also set the ‘16 and over’ age rating for them, which is permitted by law (parental discretion). These parents discuss encounters with distressing content with their children, whilst ensuring that they are well protected from highly disturbing photos and videos.

The ‘16+’ age rating also provides access to social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc., as well as most gaming websites.

As functional domains are generally not blocked, browsing the internet is fast and smooth.

The ‘16 and over’ age rating can also be used by grammar schools and other secondary schools, as well as by youth centres, residential groups, libraries, youth hostels and any other form of public or semi-public internet terminals and access points.

The ‘16+’ age rating is often a good compromise if, for example, you set up a filter by entering the JusProgDNS name servers into your DSL router (e.g. FRITZ!Box) – a filter that all members of the family can live with.