Mobile apps to get ratings similar to video games

— -- Mobile applications and games on popular smartphones and tablets — including Apple's iPhone and iPad and Android-based devices — will soon carry age-based ratings.

The ratings that AT&T Wireless, Microsoft, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless plan to use starting next year may look familiar to many. That's because they are based on those created for video games by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) in 1994.

The app ratings, which will be officially announced today, include symbols such as "E" for "Everyone" or all ages and "T" for "Teen" or suitable for ages 13 and up. But the ratings also include descriptors detailing whether an app shares personal information OR user-generated content, or connects to social networks, says ESRB President Patricia Vance.

CTIA-The Wireless Association chose the ESRB to create an app-rating system after soliciting bids earlier this year. As smartphones and the apps used on them evolved, CTIA saw the need for improved guidelines, says David Diggs, CTIA's vice president for wireless Internet development.

"In 2005, there was no such thing as an app, and the devices were radically different," he says.

Other providers are expected to implement the ratings, too. "It's an important milestone in our effort to make information available for parents and their kids," Diggs says.

CTIA's choice of the ESRB could allay industry fears about the voluntary ratings system. The video game industry created the self-regulatory ESRB after congressional hearings into violent content led to a federal ultimatum. Consumers are familiar with the ESRB ratings, Vance says. "And there's a certain credibility associated with them."

Calling the plan "consumer-friendly," Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said in a statement that "it's a win-win when industry takes proactive, responsible steps to protect children from inappropriate content."

Currently, each online app store rates content in its own fashion. Apple rates apps for age appropriateness, while Google's Android Market rates apps by maturity level.

As developers submit an app, they will fill out a free online survey and automatically get a rating. ESRB raters will randomly review ratings. Developers can appeal a rating, and consumers can submit complaints to the ESRB at www.esrb.org.

Devices could be made to recognize ratings and descriptors, so that parents could filter the apps that children can download.