Spring 1994 – Senators Lieberman and Kohl introduce legislation to create a government-run ratings board for computer and video games, but give industry one year to create a self-regulatory scheme

Summer 1994 – Software Publishers Association and five other trade associations meet to create the Recreational Software Advisory Council and to develop first-ever content rating system

September 8, 1994 – RSAC incorporated as a non-profit organization in Washington, DC

October 1994 – first games rated using the RSAC rating system

November 1994 – Stephen Balkam named first RSAC Executive Director

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May 1995 – 100^th game rated using RSAC rating system

July 1995 – Stephen Balkam testifies to Senate Judiciary Hearings on Pornography and the Internet – Commits RSAC to develop a self-rating, content rating system for the Internet

October 1995 – Public launch of PICS – Platform for Internet Content Selection

November 1995 – RSACi (RSAC on the Internet) Working Group has first meeting with representatives from Microsoft, ATT, Bell Atlantic, Time Warner, W3C & others

February 1996 – RSACi release announcing system and major sponsorship from Microsoft and integration of system within Internet Explorer 3.0

April 1996 – RSACi system launched at www.rsac.org – sites from all over world begin rating with RSACi

May 1996 – European launch of PICS and RSACi in joint press conference in Paris

July 1996 – USWeb becomes an RSACi Sponsor

August 1996 – Release of Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 with RSACi as default rating system within Content Advisor

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April 1997 – PointCast joins growing list of RSACi Sponsors – incorporates system into product

July 1997 – Launch of the International Working Group on Content Rating in Bonn, Germany – members include Internet Watch Foundation (UK); Childnet International (UK); Electronic Commerce Forum (Germany); RSAC and Australian Broadcasting Authority

July 1997 – RSACi featured at first White House Internet Summit

July 1997 – IBM joins as Corporate Partner of RSACi – integrates system within proxy server product

September 1997 – Inaugural meeting of International Working Group on Content Rating, Bagshot, England – plans to establish an internationally acceptable rating system and to establish the Internet Content Rating Association proposed

December 1997 – second White House Internet Summit – pros & cons of RSACi system hotly debated

December 1997 – over 50,000 sites rated with RSACi

June 1998 – Netscape announces integration of RSACi into NetWatch within Navigator

September 1998 – RSACi awarded Carl Bertelsmann Prize in presence of German President in Gutersloh, Germany

December 1998 – International consortium led by AOL Europe meets with RSAC to discuss “folding” RSAC into the proposed Internet Content Rating Association

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March 1999 – Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA) incorporated as non-profit in London, England

April 1999 – RSAC signs transfer of assets to ICRA

May 1999 – ICRA officially launched

July 1999 – Transfer of RSAC to ICRA complete, Jens Waltermann of Bertelsmann Foundation named as Chairman of the Board; Stephen Balkam named ICRA Executive Director

August 1999 – over 120,000 sites rated with RSACi 

February 2000 – New European Office Opened - Brighton, UK

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