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WHO PROPOSAL WOULD RAISE QUALITY OF INTERNET HEALTH INFORMATION
DOT HEALTH COULD SOON BE AS WELL KNOWN AS DOT COM
People seeking health information on the Internet will get a higher
standard and faster results under a bold new World Health Organization
(WHO) proposal. The initiative aims to cut a direct path through the
Internet maze, making it much easier for users to find the accurate and
reliable health information they need.
WHO has proposed the creation of ".health" to join the small group of
Internet top-level domains (TLDs) such as ".com" and ".org" that currently
help users locate websites in their chosen field of interest.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) says that
more TLDs are needed urgently to cope with the Web’s rapid expansion, and
has recently invited all interested parties to submit new TLD proposals
for consideration.
ICANN has the authority to prescribe the means by which TLDs are added to
the system which allows users to locate computers on the Internet by a
name.
This week ICANN meets in Los Angeles to review a host of such submissions.
Many national and international health groups have expressed support for
the WHO proposal and are hopeful that ".health" will be approved.
"The Internet has become a vital tool for individuals, families, the
health profession and the health industry. WHO is the safe pair of hands
that Internet users need to help them navigate their way through a mass of
often complex and sometimes conflicting health information," says Dr Joan
Dzenowagis, the main formulator of the WHO proposal.
"We want – and need - to raise the standard of information about health
that gets placed on the Internet, and improve people’s trust in it. As the
recognized leading international agency in health, and with over 50 years’
experience in setting standards, WHO is uniquely qualified to do this.
Moreover, we also want to draw on the expertise of the many other groups
already active in health," Dr Dzenowagis says.
At present there are more than 10,000 health sites on the Internet.
Users have no easy way of finding their way through them, nor can they be
sure about the accuracy or reliability of the information. There has been
no way of making information providers adhere to any code of practice. If
the proposal is accepted, WHO, as the sponsoring organization, would have
the responsibility to set policy on how the ".health" TLD - is distributed
and used.
WHO’s intention is that ".health" will immediately identify the domain-
name holder as adhering to agreed quality and ethical standards, thereby
instilling confidence and security in the information provided. Such
standards would emerge from international consultations WHO would initiate
with governments, medical associations, consumer groups, the health
industry and others.
WHO Top-level Domain Proposal Overview
This overview summarizes the main elements of the detailed technical
proposal.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) adopted a
policy for the introduction of new Internet top-level domains (TLDs) in
July 2000. The World Health Organization (WHO) has proposed that a
sponsored, restricted top-level domain called ".health" be created, to
improve and promote health information quality on the Internet.
Background
Recent years have seen explosive growth in public health and medical
information on the Internet. Finding useful and valid information on the
Internet can be difficult because of the speed and lack of structure of
the accumulating body of information. While filtering tools such as
directories, indexes and search engines are widely used, locating
information is only a starting point, after which users must decide on its
quality and utility.
Many users rely on resources that rate web sites that provide information
and products. Others rely on "trust-marks" or a seal designating that the
site abides by a given standard. Problems with these approaches have been
that 1) ratings can never be complete nor comprehensive and depend heavily
on the tools used, and 2) adherence to trust-mark standards cannot be
enforced.
Various national and international groups, including WHO, have been
struggling to find a way to ensure the quality of health information given
the problems of sheer information volume as well as the undesirability and
impossibility of regulating Internet content. Holding information
providers to any standard has not been an option until now, when the
possibility arises of restricting the use of ".health" to content
providers who will voluntarily abide by established quality and/or ethical
standards.
Top-level domains
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a private
sector, not-for-profit corporation with the authority to prescribe the
means by which new TLDs are added to the Internet Domain Name System
(DNS), the system which allows users to locate computers on the Internet
by a name. The DNS, which was introduced in the mid- 1980s, is a
distributed database containing resource records that allow mapping
between computer names and numerical addresses.
The DNS has a hierarchical structure, with each name composed of a series
of "labels" separated by dots. The last label in a name refers to the
top-level domain (eg ".int"); each top-level domain can be subdivided into
second-level domains (eg "who.int") and so on. For technical reasons, the
operation of each TLD is delegated to a single organization.
For the first time since the 1980s, new TLDs will be introduced, according
to a careful process designed to maintain the stability of the Internet.
The process is intended to be a well-controlled, small-scale introduction
as "proof of concept" to evaluate the feasiblity and utility of a range of
different types of TLDs and their impact on the DNS. ICANN has accepted
proposals from organizations and individuals for new TLDs. These proposals
will be subject to a technical review and public comment, after which TLDs
will be selected for more detailed negotiation and implementation.
New TLDs may be restricted or unrestricted. A restricted TLD refers to a
TLD with rules on who may apply for a registration within the domain, and
what uses may be made of those registrations, or both. The Sponsoring
Organization for a restricted TLD has the responsibility to set policy
regarding how the TLD is distributed and used. The Sponsoring Organization
also chooses the Registry Operator, the entity that is responsible for the
actual operation of the registry for the TLD.
Based on consultation and feedback received over the past few years and
WHO's own experience, it is clear that a sponsored, restricted ".health"
TLD, rather than an open and generic TLD, could enhance the credibility of
information provided for public and personal health. Policies governing
the TLD distribution and use could ensure that information providers using
this TLD abide by specific standards.
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