Content providing apparatus, content providing system, content providing method, and program

Abstract

Provided are a content providing apparatus, a content providing system, a content providing method, and a program that can appropriately prompt the setting of parental control. 【Solution means】The content providing apparatus 100 includes a request acquisition unit 110 that acquires a request for providing content from the terminal 200, a setting status acquisition unit 130 that acquires the setting status of parental control in the terminal 200, a calculation unit 150 that calculates the relevance between the provided content and the content related to the request when the parental control setting is not set, and an output determination unit 160 that outputs a recommendation for setting parental control to the terminal 200 based on the calculated relevance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a content providing apparatus, a content providing system, a content providing method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] There is known a technique for restricting the use of a device by a minor by requiring input of a password known only to a guardian, for example, for purchasing content or viewing adult content, by parental control. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a control device that prevents multimedia data transmitted on a second channel from being displayed on a device when channel selection navigation from a first channel to the second channel is activated and the transmitted multimedia data is of a predetermined content type.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, in order to use a content delivery service, it is widely practiced to install a dedicated application on a device such as a smart TV and allow a plurality of users such as family members to use the content with one user account.

[0005] However, for example, a smart TV is a type of television device. In ordinary television devices, it is not common to use a parental control when watching a program, so there are many users who do not know that they can set the parental control or who forget to set it. On the other hand, for example, in a situation where only adult users use the device, there is also a desire not to take the trouble of forcing the setting of the parental control. Therefore, it is required to appropriately prompt the setting of the parental control for users with children, etc.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above actual situation, and an object thereof is to provide a content providing device, a content providing system, a content providing method, and a program that can appropriately prompt the setting of a parental control.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] To solve the above problems, a content providing device according to the present invention includes: a request acquisition unit that acquires a request for providing content from a terminal; a setting status acquisition unit that acquires the setting status of a parental control in the terminal that transmitted the request; a calculation unit that calculates a degree of relevance indicating the degree of relevance between the provided content provided to the terminal in the past and the content related to the request when the parental control is not set in the terminal; an output determination unit that outputs a recommendation for setting the parental control to the terminal based on the degree of relevance calculated by the calculation unit; and is provided with.

Effects of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a content providing device, a content providing system, a content providing method, and a program that can appropriately prompt the setting of a parental control.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] A content providing apparatus, a content providing system, a content providing method, and a program according to an embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. Note that this embodiment is for the purpose of explanation and does not limit the scope of the present invention. Therefore, those skilled in the art can adopt an embodiment in which each of these elements or all of these elements are replaced with equivalents thereof, and these embodiments are also included in the scope of the present invention.

[0011] (Overall Configuration) An example in which a content providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to the content providing system 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the content providing system 1 includes a content providing apparatus 100 and a plurality of terminals 200. The content providing apparatus 100 and the terminal 200 transmit and receive information via a communication network 300. In the content providing system 1, when the content providing apparatus 100 receives a request for content provision from the terminal 200, the content providing apparatus 100 checks the setting status of the parental control in the terminal 200. Here, the content includes, for example, videos, games, e-books, music, audio media, and the like. When the parental control is not set, the content providing apparatus 100 of the content providing system 1 determines whether to recommend setting the parental control based on the degree of relevance between the content already provided to the terminal 200 in the past and the content related to the request.

[0012] Here, an example of the paired rental control settings screen 210 is shown in FIG. 2. This paired rental control settings screen is a screen related to the settings of the paired rental control among various setting screens. By the user of the terminal 200 selecting any one of the five security levels, the terminal 200 sets the usage restriction of when to request the input of a passcode when using content of any rating. The usage of content includes viewing or browsing the content and purchasing the content. The rating is preset for each content and indicates the age restriction framework of the content based on the expression content of the content, etc. Specifically, the rating "G" indicates that the content allows the use of all users including users aged up to 11 years old, the rating "PG12" indicates that the content allows the use of users aged 12 years old and above, the rating "R15+" indicates that the content allows the use of users aged 15 years old and above, and the rating "R18+" indicates that the content allows the use of users aged 18 years old and above. Also, "adult - specified content" indicates that the content includes sexual expressions, etc. and has particularly strict usage restrictions imposed.

[0013] When the paired rental control is not set, as shown in the figure, the security level "5" is set as the default value. The security level "5" indicates that all content can be used without the application of usage restrictions by the paired rental control.

[0014] Also, for example, when the security level "2" is set, usage restrictions are applied to the content with the ratings "R15+", "R18+", and "adult - specified content", indicating that usage restrictions are not applied to the content with the ratings "G" and "PG12".

[0015] When the user first sets up the parental control, the content providing system 1 requests the user to register the password setting. Here, an example of the password setting registration screen 220 is shown in FIG. 3. For example, when the user sets "2" for security on the setting screen 210 and selects the setting change button 20, the password setting registration screen 220 illustrated in FIG. 3 is displayed on the terminal 200. When the user inputs a password and an operation to set the input password is performed, the content providing system 1 registers the input password. In the illustrated example, the password consists of four digits, but the number of digits may be any number and may include letters, symbols, etc.

[0016] When using content to which usage restrictions are applied by the parental control, the content providing system 1 requests the user to input a password. When the password input by the user matches the pre-registered password, the content providing system 1 provides the content to which usage restrictions are applied to the terminal 200. For example, when the security level "2" is set, only when the passwords match, the content providing system 1 provides the user with content rated "R15+", "R18+", and "adult-only content". On the other hand, when the content providing system 1 receives a request for content rated "G" and "PG12", it provides these contents to the user without requesting the input of a password. Therefore, for example, by pre-registering a password known only to the parent, the parent can restrict the child from using content rated "R15+", "R18+", and "adult-only content" without the parent's permission.

[0017] Note that when the user sets the security level to "5", since usage restrictions are not applied to all content, it indicates that the user has selected not to apply usage restrictions by the parental control.

[0018] Therefore, each user will fall into one of the following states: a usage restriction applicable state where usage restrictions by parental control are applied by setting security levels 1 to 4, an unrestricted usage state where usage restrictions by parental control are not applied by setting security level 5, and an unset state where parental control has never been set.

[0019] Returning to FIG. 1, the content providing system 1 includes a content providing device 100 and one or more terminals 200, and the content providing device 100 and the terminals 200 are connected via a communication network 300 such as the Internet.

[0020] The content providing device 100 is composed of one or more server computers. The content providing device 100 is operated, for example, by an operator who provides a content providing service for providing content on the Internet. The content providing device 100 manages various contents and provides the contents in response to requests from the terminals 200.

[0021] When the content providing device 100 receives a request from the terminal 200 to provide content, it acquires the setting status of parental control in the terminal 200. If parental control is set, the content providing device 100 determines whether the content related to the request is content to which usage restrictions apply based on the security level of parental control and the rating information of the content related to the request. If the content providing device 100 determines that the content related to the request is content to which usage restrictions apply, it requests the user to input a password, and if the input password matches the registered password registered in advance, it provides the content related to the request to the user.

[0022] When the paired rental control setting in the terminal 200 is not set, the content providing apparatus 100 determines whether to recommend setting the paired rental control based on the degree of relevance between the provided content provided to the terminal 200 in the past and the content related to the request. When the content providing apparatus 100 determines that it has received a request for content with low relevance to the provided content, it determines to recommend setting the paired rental control. When it determines that it has received a request for content with high relevance to the provided content, it determines not to recommend setting the paired rental control. When the content providing apparatus 100 decides to recommend setting the paired rental control, it causes a message recommending setting the paired rental control to be displayed on the display screen of the terminal 200.

[0023] The terminal 200 is a device such as a smart TV, smartphone, tablet, or PC (Personal Computer) owned by the user. For example, an app for using the content providing service provided by a business operator is installed in the terminal 200. The user starts the app to use the content providing service.

[0024] The terminal 200 includes display means for displaying information and communication means for transmitting and receiving information to and from the content providing apparatus 100. In the following description, the terminal 200 is a smart TV, and it is described that a plurality of users use the content providing service with the login account of one registered user.

[0025] The display means is, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display. Here, FIG. 4 shows an example of the top screen 230 displayed on the display screen of the terminal 200 by the display means when the user starts the content providing app distributed by the business operator managing the content providing apparatus 100.

[0026] As shown in the figure, on the top screen 230, objects 22 representing the outlines of respective contents are displayed as a list. The user searches for the content to be used by inputting a predetermined keyword in the search tab 23 arranged at the upper part of the top screen 230 or by selecting a genre to narrow down the content. When an operation for requesting the provision of any content is performed by the user and the content related to the request is provided from the content providing apparatus 100, the display means causes the provided content to be displayed on the display screen.

[0027] The communication means transmits a request for the provision of content to the content providing apparatus 100. Specifically, when any object 22 on the top screen 230 illustrated in FIG. 4 is selected by the user and an operation for requesting the provision of the content is performed, the terminal 200 transmits, via the communication means, a request signal including a user ID which is information uniquely identifying the registered user of the content providing application being activated, a device ID which is information uniquely identifying the terminal 200, and a content ID which is information uniquely identifying the content, to the terminal 200.

[0028] Here, an example of the screen transition from when the provision of content is requested to when the content is received is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. For example, when the object 22 of content A on the top screen 230 illustrated in FIG. 4 is selected by the user, the display means causes the usage confirmation screen 240 illustrated in FIG. 5 to be displayed on the display screen. As shown in the figure, on the usage confirmation screen 240, a viewing button 24 for viewing content A and a return button 25 for returning to the top screen 230 are arranged.

[0029] When the viewing button 24 is selected by the user, the terminal 200 transmits a request signal to the terminal 200. For example, when the content A is content to which usage restrictions are applied by the parental control, the display means causes the password input screen 250 illustrated in FIG. 6 to be displayed on the display screen. When a password is input by the user of use in the password input screen 250, the terminal 200 transmits the input password to the content providing apparatus 100 via the communication means. When it is confirmed by the content providing apparatus 100 that the input password matches the registered password, the content providing apparatus 100 transmits the content data of the content A to the terminal 200. The display means causes the received content data of the content A to be displayed on the display screen.

[0030] Returning to FIG. 1, the communication network 300 may include various types of networks. For example, a wide area network (WAN) such as a local area network (LAN) Internet, a telecommunication network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a wireless network, a public switched network, a satellite network, a cellular network, a public land mobile network (PLMN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a private network, an ad hoc network, an intranet, an optical fiber-based network, etc., a combination of these or other types of networks.

[0031] (Functional Configuration of Content Providing Apparatus) Next, the functional configuration of the content providing apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 7. The content providing apparatus 100 includes a request acquisition unit 110, a user database 120, a setting status acquisition unit 130, a content database 140, a calculation unit 150, an output determination unit 160, and a provision control unit 170.

[0032] The request acquisition unit 110 receives a request signal for content provision from the terminal 200. When the request acquisition unit 110 receives the request signal, it acquires the user ID of the registered user included in the request signal, the device ID of the terminal 200, and the content ID of the content related to the request.

[0033] The user database 120 is a database that stores a setting status table indicating the setting status of parental control and the provision history of content. Here, an example of the setting status table is shown in FIG. 8, and an example of the provision history is shown in FIG. 9.

[0034] As illustrated in FIG. 8, the setting status table associates the "user ID", which is information uniquely identifying the registered user, the "device ID", which is information uniquely identifying the terminal 200, the "setting status" indicating the setting status of parental control, the "security level" indicating the set security level, the "password" indicating the password registered by the registered user, and the "date" indicating the date when parental control was set. In the setting status, either "set" indicating that parental control has been set or "not set" indicating that parental control has not been set is input. In the security level, any numerical value from security levels 1 to 5 set in the setting screen 210 illustrated in FIG. 2 is input.

[0035] Note that since the default value of the security level is "5", for the combination of the user ID "u0003" and the device ID "d0003" with the setting status of "not set", the security level "5" is set, and the "password" and "date" items are blank.

[0036] Also, as in the example of the user ID "u0003" in the illustrated setting status table, it may be possible to set the paired rental control for each of a plurality of terminals 200 with a single registered user's user account. Note that the security level may be set only for the user ID. That is, the same security level may be set for all terminals used by the user indicated by the user ID.

[0037] As illustrated in FIG. 9, the provision history is a table that associates a "user ID", which is information that uniquely identifies a registered user, a "content ID", which is information that uniquely identifies the provided content that has been provided in the past, and a "provision date" indicating the date on which the content was provided.

[0038] Returning to FIG. 7, the setting status acquisition unit 130 acquires the setting status of the paired rental control of the terminal 200 that has transmitted a request signal for requesting the provision of content. Specifically, the setting status acquisition unit 130 refers to the setting status table illustrated in FIG. 8 using the user ID and the device ID included in the request signal as keys to acquire the setting status of the terminal 200. Note that when the security level is set only for the user ID (when the same security level is set for the same user ID), the setting status acquisition unit 130 may refer to the setting status table using the user ID included in the request signal as a key to acquire the setting status.

[0039] The content database 140 is a database that stores information on each content registered in the content providing device 100. Here, an example of the content database 140 is shown in FIG. 10. As shown in the figure, the content database 140 includes information such as a "content ID" which is information uniquely identifying the content, a "content name" indicating the name of the content, a "category" indicating the category of the content, a "genre" indicating the genre of the content, a "rating" indicating the rating information of the content, and a "summary" including a text representing the outline of the content. Note that the information stored in the content database 140 is not limited to these, and may further include arbitrary information such as the production company name of the content, the author name, the performer name, and the sub-genre of the content.

[0040] Returning to FIG. 7, the calculation unit 150 calculates a relevance degree indicating the degree of relevance between the provided content that has been provided to the terminal 200 in the past and the content related to the request acquired by the request acquisition unit 110. For example, the calculation unit 150 calculates a first age group indicating the target age of the provided content and a second age group indicating the target age of the content related to the request, respectively, and calculates the relevance degree based on the difference between the first age group and the second age group. The target age refers to the age group for which use is not restricted according to the rating information set for each content. Details of the processing by the calculation unit 150 will be described later.

[0041] The output determination unit 160 determines whether to output a recommendation for setting the parental control to the terminal 200 based on the relevance degree calculated by the calculation unit 150. When the output determination unit 160 determines that the relevance between the provided content and the content related to the request is low, it determines to recommend setting the parental control, and when it determines that the relevance between the provided content and the content related to the request is high, it determines not to recommend setting the parental control.

[0042] When the output determination unit 160 determines to recommend the setting of the paired rental control, it causes the terminal 200 to display a recommendation screen including a message recommending the setting of the paired rental control on the display screen. Here, an example of the recommendation screen 260 displayed by the output determination unit 160 is shown in FIG. 11. As shown in the figure, within the recommendation screen 260, there are displayed a message recommending the setting of the paired rental control, a setting screen transition button 26 for transitioning to the setting screen 210 of the paired rental control, and an unconfigured selection button 27 for making a selection not to set the paired rental control at the current time. When the setting screen transition button 26 is selected by the user, the process transitions to the setting screen 210 illustrated in FIG. 2, and the user sets the paired rental control by selecting any security level.

[0043] Further, the output determination unit 160 may determine the timing for displaying the recommendation screen 260 based on the comparison between the first age group and the second age group calculated by the calculation unit 150. When the second age group is lower than the first age group, for example, when only adults have been using the content providing application until now but a child has newly started using the service and is trying to view content with a low target age, the output determination unit 160 determines to display the recommendation screen 260 after providing the content related to the request.

[0044] Also, when the second age group is higher than the first age group, for example, when the user has been using only content with a low target age until now but is trying to use adult-oriented content, the output determination unit 160 determines to display the recommendation screen 260 before providing the content related to the request.

[0045] Returning to FIG. 7, the provision control unit 170 controls the provision of content to the terminal 200 based on the setting status of the paired rental control. Specifically, when the provision control unit 170 acquires a request for providing content to which the usage restriction by the paired rental control is applied, it requests the user to input a passcode, and when the input passcode matches the pre-registered passcode, it provides the content.

[0046] On the other hand, when the input passcode does not match the pre-registered passcode, the provision control unit 170 determines not to provide the content. Here, an example of the non-provision screen 270 for notifying the non-provision of content is shown in FIG. 12. When the provision control unit 170 determines not to provide the content, it causes the non-provision screen 270 to be displayed on the display screen of the terminal 200 and notifies that the content cannot be provided due to the usage restriction of the paired rental control.

[0047] (Hardware Configuration of the Information Processing Apparatus) FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 10 in which the content providing apparatus 100 and the terminal 200 are realized. The information processing apparatus 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 that executes processing according to a program, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 12 that is a volatile memory, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 13 that is a non-volatile memory, a storage unit 14 that stores data, an input unit 15 that receives input of information, a display unit 16 that visualizes and displays information, and a communication unit 17 that transmits and receives information, and these are connected via an internal bus 99.

[0048] The CPU 11 controls the operation of the entire information processing apparatus 10, is connected to each component, and exchanges control signals and data. By reading out the program stored in the storage unit 14 into the RAM 12 and executing it, the CPU 11 executes various processes. As the main functions provided by the program, the CPU 11 executes each process by the setting status acquisition unit 130, the calculation unit 150, the output determination unit 160, and the provision control unit 170 of the content providing apparatus 100.

[0049] The RAM 12 is for temporarily recording data and programs, and holds programs and data read from the storage unit 14, other data necessary for communication, etc. The RAM 12 is used as the work area of the CPU 11.

[0050] The ROM 13 stores control programs, BIOS (Basic Input Output System), etc. that the CPU 11 executes for the basic operation of the information processing apparatus 10.

[0051] The storage unit 14 includes a hard disk drive, a flash memory, etc., stores programs executed by the CPU 11, and stores various data used during program execution. The storage unit 14 functions as the user database 120 and the content database 140 of the content providing apparatus 100.

[0052] The input unit 15 is a user interface including a touch panel, a keyboard, a mouse, a communication device, etc. The input unit 15 receives an operation input from the user of the information processing apparatus 10 and outputs a signal corresponding to the received operation input to the CPU 11.

[0053] The display unit 16 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display that visualizes and displays information. The display unit 16 functions as the display means of the terminal 200.

[0054] The communication unit 17 is a network termination device or a wireless communication device that connects to a network, and a serial interface or a LAN (Local Area Network) interface that connects to them. The information processing device 10 communicates with other information processing devices and the like via the communication unit 17. The communication unit 17 functions as a request acquisition unit 110, an output determination unit 160 of the content providing device 100, and a communication means of the terminal 200.

[0055] (Recommendation determination process) Next, the operation of the content providing device 100 will be described. First, the recommendation determination process for determining whether to output a recommendation for the setting of the parental control will be described with reference to FIG. 14.

[0056] For example, when the user operates the terminal 200 to start a content providing application pre-installed in the terminal 200, the content providing device 100 causes the top screen 230 illustrated in FIG. 4 to be displayed on the display screen of the terminal 200. When the user inputs a user ID and a password on the top screen 230, or when the user ID and password set in the terminal 200 in advance are transmitted to the content providing device 100 immediately after the application is started, and the user logs in to the content providing service, the recommendation determination process is started.

[0057] The request acquisition unit 110 receives a request signal for providing content from the terminal 200 (step S101). Specifically, when any of the objects 22 displayed on the top screen 230 is selected by the user, the process transitions to the usage confirmation screen 240 illustrated in FIG. 5. When the viewing button 24 arranged on the usage confirmation screen 240 is selected, the terminal 200 transmits a request signal including the content ID, the user ID, and the device ID of the content corresponding to the selected object 22 to the content providing device 100.

[0058] When the request acquisition unit 110 receives the request signal (step S102; Yes), it notifies the setting status acquisition unit 130 of the user ID and the device ID included in the request signal, and proceeds to step S103.

[0059] On the other hand, when the request acquisition unit 110 has not received a request signal (step S102; No), it returns to step S101 and accepts the request signal.

[0060] Next, the setting status acquisition unit 130 determines whether paired rental is set in the terminal 200 that has transmitted the request signal (step S103). Specifically, the setting status acquisition unit 130 refers to the setting status table illustrated in FIG. 8 using the user ID and device ID received in step S102 as keys to acquire the setting status. For example, when the user ID "u0001" and the device ID "d0001" are notified, the setting status acquisition unit 130 refers to the setting status table and acquires that the setting status of the paired rental control is that the paired rental control has been set and the security level of the paired rental control is "2".

[0061] When the setting status acquisition unit 130 determines that the paired rental control has been set in the terminal 200 to be processed (step S103; Yes), it proceeds to the content providing process. On the other hand, when the setting status acquisition unit 130 determines that the paired rental control has not been set (step S103; No), it notifies the calculation unit 150 to that effect.

[0062] Next, the calculation unit 150 accesses the user database 120, refers to the provided history illustrated in FIG. 9, and acquires information on the provided content that has been provided to the terminal 200 to be processed in the past (step S104).

[0063] Next, the calculation unit 150 calculates the relevance between the content related to the request from the terminal 200 and the provided content acquired in step S104 (step S105). Specifically, the calculation unit 150 refers to the content database 140 illustrated in FIG. 10, and based on the rating information of the content related to the request and the provided content respectively, calculates the first age group indicating the target age of the provided content and the second age group indicating the target age of the content related to the request, thereby calculating the relevance.

[0064] For example, if there are two pieces of provided content and the ratings of each piece of content are "PG12" and "R15+", first, the calculation unit 150 identifies that the first age group is 12 years old or older based on the minimum age of "PG12" with the lowest permitted age of use. Next, if the rating of the content related to the request is "R18+", the content providing apparatus 100 identifies that the second age group is 18 years old or older from the minimum age at which the use of "R18+" content is permitted. The calculation unit 150 compares the minimum ages of the first age group and the second age group, and calculates a score (0 to 1) corresponding to the difference in the minimum ages as the relevance. A relevance of 1 indicates the highest relevance, and a relevance of 0 indicates no relevance. Note that the first age group including a plurality of pieces of provided content may be obtained by performing any calculation such as the average value, median value, or mode value of the minimum ages of each piece of provided content. Also, provided content within a set period such as within one week, within one month, or within six months from the provision history may be extracted, and the first age group may be obtained from the extracted provided content.

[0065] Next, the output determination unit 160 determines whether the relevance between the provided content and the content related to the request is low (step S106). Specifically, when the degree of relevance calculated by the calculation unit 150 is less than a preset threshold, the output determination unit 160 determines that the relevance is low, and when it is equal to or greater than the threshold, the output determination unit 160 determines that the relevance is high. For example, when the threshold is 1, if the minimum ages of the first age group and the second age group match, the degree of relevance is 1, and the output determination unit 160 determines that the relevance is high. If there is a difference in the minimum ages of the first age group and the second age group, the degree of relevance is less than 1, and the output determination unit 160 determines that the relevance is low.

[0066] In the above example, since there is a difference in the minimum ages of the first age group and the second age group, the output determination unit 160 determines that the relevance between the provided content and the content related to the request is low (step S106; Yes), and proceeds to step S107.

[0067] On the other hand, when the output determination unit 160 compares the minimum ages of the first age group and the second age group and determines that there is no difference between the first age group and the second age group, it determines that the relevance between the provided content and the content related to the request is high (step S106; No), and decides not to output a recommendation for the pair rental control setting (step S108). Then, the process proceeds to the content providing process.

[0068] Note that the method for calculating the degree of relevance is not limited to this. For example, referring to the content database 140 illustrated in FIG. 10, based on the keywords included in the outlines of the provided content and the content related to the request respectively, the co-occurrence degree between the provided content and the content related to the request is calculated as the degree of relevance. When the co-occurrence degree is less than a predetermined threshold, it may be determined that the relevance between the provided content and the content related to the request is low. Also, for example, the degree of relevance between the provided content and the content related to the request may be calculated by any method, such as calculating the degree of relevance based on the attribute information of the content.

[0069] In step S107, the output determination unit 160 compares the first age group and the second age group calculated by the calculation unit 150 in step S105 (step S107). In the case of the above example, since the first age group is 12 years old or older and the second age group is 18 years old or older, the output determination unit 160 determines that the second age group is higher than the first age group, and decides to output a recommendation to set parental control before content provision. Next, the output determination unit 160 causes the recommendation screen 260 illustrated in FIG. 11 to be displayed on the display screen of the terminal 200 (step S109).

[0070] Next, the output determination unit 160 determines the type of selection operation by the user (step S110). Specifically, when the un-setting selection button 27 is selected on the recommendation screen 260, the output determination unit 160 determines that it is selected not to set parental control, and proceeds to the content provision process without updating the setting of parental control.

[0071] On the other hand, when the setting screen transition button 26 is selected on the recommendation screen 260, the output determination unit 160 causes the setting screen 210 illustrated in FIG. 2 to be displayed on the display screen of the terminal 200. When any security level is selected by the user and the setting change button 20 is selected, the output determination unit 160 determines that parental control is set, and causes the password setting registration screen 220 illustrated in FIG. 3 to be displayed on the terminal 200. When a password is input by the user, the output determination unit 160 accesses the user database 120 and updates the setting status table illustrated in FIG. 8 with the set information (step S111). Specifically, "setting status" is changed from "un-set" to "set", "security level" is updated from the default value of "5" to the newly set value, and the input password and the date when parental control is set are input to "password" and "date", and the setting status table is updated with the set information. Thereafter, the process proceeds to the content provision process.

[0072] Note that if the return button 21 is selected without setting the paired rental control on the setting screen 210, and the un-set selection button 27 is selected on the recommended screen 260 that is displayed again, the output determination unit 160 may determine that it is selected not to set the paired rental control, and may shift to the content providing process without updating the setting of the paired rental control.

[0073] Returning to step S107, if the output determination unit 160 determines that the second age group is lower than the first age group, it is determined to output a recommended screen 260 that recommends setting the paired rental control after providing the content related to the request (step S112). Then, the process shifts to the content providing process. By the content providing process, when content is provided to the user and a viewing completion notification is received from the terminal 200, the output determination unit 160 causes the recommended screen 260 illustrated in FIG. 11 to be displayed on the display screen of the terminal 200. The output determination unit 160 executes the same processes as in steps S110 and S111. When the paired rental control is set by the user, the setting status table is updated. When it is selected not to set the paired rental control, the process ends without updating the setting status table.

[0074] Note that in step S105, when the calculation unit 150 calculates the relevance without using the first age group and the second age group, the calculation unit 150 calculates the first age group and the second age group in step S107, and the output determination unit 160 may compare the calculated first age group and second age group. In this case, if the output determination unit 160 determines that there is no difference between the first age group and the second age group, it may determine not to recommend setting the paired rental control and shift to the content providing process.

[0075] (Provision determination process) Next, a provision determination process for determining whether to provide content to the terminal 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 15.

[0076] The providing control unit 170 acquires the rating information of the content related to the request signal received in step S102 (step S201). Specifically, the providing control unit 170 refers to the content database 140 illustrated in FIG. 10 and specifies the rating information using the content ID as a key. For example, when a request signal for providing "Content A" is received, the providing control unit 170 specifies that the rating of "Content A" is "PG12", indicating that it is content restricted for use by those 12 years old and under, using the content ID "v0001" included in the request signal as a key.

[0077] Next, the providing control unit 170 determines whether a usage restriction is applied to the content related to the request (step S202). Specifically, the providing control unit 170 determines whether a usage restriction is applied based on the security level of the parental control and the rating information of the content specified in step S201. When the user ID is "u0001", as illustrated in FIG. 7, since the security level is "2" and the usage of "PG12" content is not restricted, the providing control unit 170 determines that no usage restriction is applied to the content related to the request (step S202; No), and provides the content related to the request to the terminal 200 (step S206).

[0078] On the other hand, for example, when the rating of the content related to the request is "R15+" or "R18+", since the security level "2" restricts the usage of content with these ratings, the providing control unit 170 determines that a usage restriction is applied to the content related to the request (step S202; Yes), and requests the user to enter a password (step S203). Specifically, the providing control unit 170 causes the password input screen 250 illustrated in FIG. 6 to be displayed on the terminal 200 and accepts the input of the password.

[0079] Next, the provision control unit 170 determines whether the input passcode matches the registered passcode (step S204). Specifically, the provision control unit 170 determines whether the passcode input on the passcode input screen 250 matches the passcode registered in the setting status table illustrated in FIG. 8. When the provision control unit 170 determines that the input passcode matches the registered passcode (step S204; Yes), it provides the content related to the request to the terminal 200 (step S206).

[0080] On the other hand, when the provision control unit 170 determines that the input passcode does not match the registered passcode (step S204; No), it decides not to provide the content related to the request to the terminal 200, and causes the terminal 200 to display the non - provisionable screen 270 illustrated in FIG. 12.

[0081] As described above, when the content providing apparatus 100 determines that the relevance between the provided content and the content related to the request is low for a user with the paired rental control not set, it outputs a recommendation for setting the paired rental control. Therefore, when it is determined that the user's content usage tendency has changed, for example, when a new child has started content provision, or when a user who has been using child - oriented content tries to use adult - oriented content, a recommendation for setting the paired rental control is output. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately prompt the setting of the paired rental control.

[0082] (Modification example) In the above embodiment, the setting status acquisition unit 130 of the content providing apparatus 100 has been described as acquiring the setting status of the peer rental control of each terminal 200 by referring to the setting status table, but it is not limited thereto. For example, when the terminal 200 holds the setting status of its own peer rental control and transmits a request signal to the content providing apparatus 100, the setting status information of the peer rental control may be transmitted together with the request signal. The setting status acquisition unit 130 may acquire the setting status of the terminal 200 based on the setting status information transmitted from the terminal 200 in step S103. In that case, the user database 120 of the content providing apparatus 100 may not store the setting status table.

[0083] Also, in the above embodiment, the content providing apparatus 100 has been described as shifting to the content providing process when it is determined in step S110 that the peer rental control is not set when the recommended screen 260 is output in step S109, but it is not limited thereto, and it may be determined not to provide the content related to the request and output the unavailable screen 270 to the terminal 200.

[0084] Also, when it is determined in step S112 that a recommendation is to be output after the content is provided by the content providing apparatus 100, the recommended screen 260 is output after the content is actually provided, and the unset selection button 27 is selected, it may be such that no other content is provided until the peer rental control is set hereafter.

[0085] Also, in the above embodiment, the rating set for each content has been described as being divided into five categories: G, PG12, R15+, R18+, and adult-only content, but it is not limited thereto, and the number of divisions may be any number. In that case, the security levels to be set may be set in a number corresponding to the number of rating divisions. Also, the number of rating divisions may be different for each type of content, or different security levels may be settable.

[0086] Note that the content providing apparatus 100 according to the above-described embodiment can be realized not by a dedicated apparatus but by using a normal computer. For example, the content providing apparatus 100 that executes the above-described processing may be configured by installing, in a computer, a program stored in a recording medium for executing any of the above from the recording medium. Further, the content providing apparatus 100 may be configured by a plurality of computers operating in cooperation.

[0087] Also, when the above-described functions are realized by sharing between an OS (Operating System) and an application, or by cooperation between the OS and the application, only the part other than the OS may be stored in a medium.

[0088] Further, it is also possible to superimpose a program on a carrier wave and distribute it via a communication network. For example, the program may be distributed in an application store (App Store), or the program may be posted on a bulletin board (BBS, Bulletin Board System) on the communication network and the program may be distributed via the network. Then, these programs may be started and configured to be able to execute the above-described processing by executing them in the same manner as other application programs under the control of an operating system.

[0089] Also, the information stored in the content providing apparatus 100 may be collectively managed by a cloud server existing on the network, and the content providing apparatus 100 may access the cloud server as necessary to read and write information. In this case, the content providing apparatus 100 may not include the user database 120 and the content database 140. Further, the list providing process by the content providing apparatus 100 may be executed on the cloud based on the information stored in the cloud server.

[0090] Hereinafter, aspects of the present disclosure will be collectively described as appendices.

[0091] (Appendix 1) A request acquisition unit that acquires a request for content provision from a terminal; A setting status acquisition unit that acquires the setting status of parental control in the terminal that sent the request; A calculation unit that calculates a relevance degree indicating the degree of relevance between the provided content provided to the terminal in the past and the content related to the request when parental control is not set in the terminal; An output determination unit that outputs a recommendation for setting parental control to the terminal based on the relevance degree calculated by the calculation unit; A content providing apparatus comprising the above.

[0092] (Appendix 2) The calculation unit obtains a first age group indicating an age group in which the use of the provided content is not restricted and a second age group indicating an age group in which the use of the content related to the request is not restricted based on rating information indicating an age restriction frame preset for each content, and calculates the relevance degree based on the difference between the obtained first age group and the second age group. When there is a difference between the first age group and the second age group, the output determination unit determines that the relevance is low and outputs the recommendation to the terminal. The content providing apparatus according to Appendix 1.

[0093] (Appendix 3) If the first age group is higher than the second age group, the output determination unit outputs the recommendation to the terminal after providing the content related to the request. If the first age group is lower than the second age group, the output determination unit outputs the recommendation to the terminal before providing the content related to the request. The content providing apparatus according to Appendix 2.

[0094] (Appendix 4) Further comprising a provision control unit that controls the provision of the content related to the request to the terminal based on the setting status of parental control acquired by the setting status acquisition unit. The content providing apparatus according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 3.

[0095] (Supplementary Note 5) When the providing control unit determines that the content related to the request is content to which usage restrictions by parental control are applied, the providing control unit requests the terminal to input a password, and when the input password matches a pre-registered password, provides the content related to the request to the terminal. The content providing apparatus according to Supplementary Note 4.

[0096] (Supplementary Note 6) The content providing apparatus further includes a providing control unit that controls the provision of the content related to the request to the terminal based on the setting status of parental control acquired by the setting status acquisition unit. If the first age group is higher than the second age group, the providing control unit outputs the recommendation after providing the content related to the request, and suppresses the provision of other content until the parental control is set on the terminal or until a setting not applying usage restrictions by parental control is set. The content providing apparatus according to Supplementary Note 2.

[0097] (Supplementary Note 7) The content providing apparatus further includes a providing control unit that controls the provision of the content related to the request to the terminal based on the setting status of parental control acquired by the setting status acquisition unit. If the first age group is lower than the second age group, the providing control unit outputs the recommendation before providing the content related to the request, and suppresses the provision of the content related to the request until the parental control is set on the terminal or until a setting not applying usage restrictions by parental control is set. The content providing apparatus according to Supplementary Note 2.

[0098] (Supplementary Note 8) A content providing system including a server and a terminal. The terminal transmits the setting status of parental control in the terminal to the server together with a request for content provision. The server has a request acquisition unit that acquires the request from the terminal, and when parental control is not set in the terminal, a calculation unit that calculates a degree of relevance indicating the degree of relevance between the content provided to the terminal in the past and the content related to the request, and an output determination unit that outputs a recommendation for setting parental control to the terminal based on the degree of relevance calculated by the calculation unit. The server is provided with a content provision system.

[0099] (Appendix 9) A computer performs steps of acquiring a request for content provision from a terminal, acquiring the setting status of parental control in the terminal that transmitted the request, when parental control is not set in the terminal, calculating a degree of relevance indicating the degree of relevance between the content provided to the terminal in the past and the content related to the request, and based on the calculated degree of relevance, outputting a recommendation for setting parental control to the terminal. This is a content provision method.

[0100] (Appendix 10) A computer is caused to perform a process of acquiring a request for content provision from a terminal, perform a process of acquiring the setting status of parental control in the terminal that transmitted the request, when parental control is not set in the terminal, perform a process of calculating a degree of relevance indicating the degree of relevance between the content provided to the terminal in the past and the content related to the request, A process of outputting a recommendation for the setting of parental control to the terminal based on the calculated relevance, A program for causing the execution.

[0101] The present disclosure can be implemented in various embodiments and variations without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Also, the above-described embodiments are for explaining this disclosure and do not limit the scope of this disclosure. That is, the scope of the present disclosure is indicated by the claims rather than the embodiments. And various modifications made within the scope of the claims and within the scope of the meaning of the disclosure equivalent thereto are considered to be within the scope of this disclosure.

Industrial Applicability

[0102] According to the present invention, it can be suitably adopted for a content providing device, a content providing system, a content providing method, and a program that can appropriately prompt the setting of parental control.

Explanation of Signs

[0103] 1 Content providing system, 100 Content providing device, 200 Terminal, 300 Communication network, 110 Request acquisition unit, 120 User database, 130 Setting status acquisition unit, 140 Content database, 150 Calculation unit, 160 Output determination unit, 170 Provision control unit, 210 Setting screen, 220 Password setting registration screen, 230 Top screen, 240 Usage confirmation screen, 250 Password input screen, 260 Recommendation screen, 270 Provision unavailable screen, 10 Information processing device, 11 CPU, 12 RAM, 13 ROM, 14 Storage unit, 15 Input unit, 16 Display unit, 17 Communication unit, 20 Setting change button, 21,25 Return button, 22 Object, 23 Search tab, 24 Play button, 26 Setting screen transition button, 27 Unset selection button, 28 Top screen button, 99 Internal bus

Claims

1. a request acquisition unit that acquires a request for content provision from a terminal; a setting status acquisition unit that acquires a setting status of parental control in the terminal that transmitted the request; a calculation unit that calculates a degree of relevance between a content previously provided to the terminal and the requested content when parental control is not set in the terminal; an output determination unit that outputs a recommendation for setting parental control to the terminal based on the relevance calculated by the calculation unit; A content providing device comprising:

2. the calculation unit determines a first age group indicating an age group for which use of the provided content is not restricted and a second age group indicating an age group for which use of the content related to the request is not restricted based on rating information indicating an age restriction frame previously set for each content, and calculates the relevance based on a difference between the determined first age group and the determined second age group; When there is a difference between the first age group and the second age group, the output determination unit determines that the relevance is low, and outputs the recommendation to the terminal. The content providing device according to claim 1 .

3. the output determination unit outputs the recommendation to the terminal after completing provision of the content related to the request if the first age group is higher than the second age group, and outputs the recommendation to the terminal before providing the content related to the request if the first age group is lower than the second age group. The content providing device according to claim 2 .

4. The system further includes a provision control unit that controls provision of the requested content to the terminal based on the parental control setting status acquired by the setting status acquisition unit. The content providing device according to claim 1 .

5. When the provision control unit determines that the requested content is content to which usage restrictions based on parental control are applied, the provision control unit requests the terminal to input a passcode, and when the input passcode matches a preregistered passcode, provides the requested content to the terminal. The content providing device according to claim 4 .

6. A provision control unit that controls provision of the requested content to the terminal based on the parental control setting status acquired by the setting status acquisition unit, If the first age group is higher than the second age group, the provision control unit outputs the recommendation after completing provision of the content related to the request, and suppresses provision of other content until parental control is set on the terminal, or until a setting is made not to apply usage restrictions due to parental control. The content providing device according to claim 2 .

7. A provision control unit that controls provision of the requested content to the terminal based on the parental control setting status acquired by the setting status acquisition unit, If the first age group is lower than the second age group, the provision control unit outputs the recommendation before providing the requested content, and suppresses the provision of the requested content until parental control is set on the terminal, or until a setting is made not to apply usage restrictions due to parental control. The content providing device according to claim 2 .

8. A content providing system including a server and a terminal, The terminal transmits a setting status of parental control in the terminal to the server together with a request for providing content; The server, a request acquisition unit that acquires the request from the terminal; a calculation unit that calculates a degree of relevance between a content previously provided to the terminal and the requested content when parental control is not set in the terminal; an output determination unit that outputs a recommendation for setting parental control to the terminal based on the relevance calculated by the calculation unit; Equipped with Content delivery system.

9. The computer receiving a request for providing content from a terminal; acquiring a setting status of parental control in the terminal that sent the request; If parental control is not set on the terminal, a degree of relevance is calculated between the content provided to the terminal in the past and the content related to the request; outputting a recommendation for setting parental control to the terminal based on the calculated relevance; A content delivery method that performs the above.

10. On the computer, A process of receiving a request for providing content from a terminal; A process of acquiring a setting status of parental control in the terminal that transmitted the request; If parental control is not set on the terminal, a process of calculating a degree of relevance between a content previously provided to the terminal and the content related to the request; A process of outputting a recommendation for setting parental control to the terminal based on the calculated relevance; A program that executes the following.

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