Media device content review and management

• US 10,440,063 B1
• Filed: 11/28/2018
• Issued: 10/08/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Eturi Corp.
• Original Assignee: Eturi Corp.
• Inventors: Nevick, Andrew, Duke, Godfrey, Riley, John, Dailey, Dustin
• Primary Examiner(s): Eskandarnia, Arvin
• Application Number:
  US16/203,453
• Time in Patent Office: 314 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00159 Parental control systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1895 for short real-time information, e.g. alarms, notifications, alerts, updates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/306 intercepting packet switched data communications, e.g. Web, Internet or IMS communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/308 retaining data, e.g. retaining successful, unsuccessful communication attempts, internet access, or e-mail, internet telephony, intercept related information or call content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/222 Secondary servers, e.g. proxy server, cable television Head-end provisioning of proxy services in data packet switching networks H04L67/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23418 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics television picture signal circuitry for scene change detection H04N5/147; filtering for image enhancement G06T5/00; methods or arrangements for recognising scenes G06V20/00; arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4394 involving operations for analysing the audio stream, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in audio streams arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of audio in broadcast systems H04H60/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44204 Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4756 for rating content, e.g. scoring a recommended movie
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]

Abstract

Systems and methods may be provided to monitor media content on a monitored media device, including multimedia content, to determine whether the content is appropriate for the monitored device or devices, and to take action to remove, filter or otherwise block inappropriate content. The content monitored may include, for example, content such as audio content, video content, images, and text.

Claims

1. A system for device monitoring, comprising:

an electronic monitored device, comprising a communications transceiver;

a monitoring and analysis circuit, wherein the monitoring and analysis circuit

monitors device media content received, sent or generated by the electronic monitored device;

analyzes the monitored media content and identifies any monitored media content that exceeds a content tolerance level established for that device, or established for a user of that device, as flagged content;

generates derived data for the flagged content; and

causes the flagged content and its corresponding derived data to be transmitted to a server;

a server, comprising a server analysis component, wherein the server

stores the media content tolerance level established for the monitored device;

analyzes derived data using the server analysis component to determine if the flagged content corresponding to the derived data exceeds the media content tolerance level for the monitored device or user of the monitored device; and

generates an alert if the flagged content is determined by the server analysis component to exceed the media content tolerance level; and

an electronic monitoring device, wherein the electronic monitoring device

receives the alert generated by the server for the flagged content;

receives the flagged content associated with the alert; and

displays the received flagged content to a user of the electronic monitoring device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the monitoring and analysis circuit is located in the monitored device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the monitoring and analysis circuit is located in a router connected to the monitored device.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the monitoring and analysis circuit causes the monitored device to transmit the flagged content to the server and further wherein the monitored device encrypts the flagged content prior to transmission and transmits encrypted flagged content to the server.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the server is unable to decrypt the encrypted flagged content sent from the monitored device to the server.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the monitoring and analysis circuit causes the router to transmit the flagged content to the server and further wherein the router encrypts the flagged content prior to transmission and transmits encrypted flagged content to the server.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the server is unable to decrypt the encrypted flagged content sent from the router to the server.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the flagged content transmitted to the server comprises encrypted flagged content.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the monitoring device decrypts the encrypted flagged content prior to displaying the flagged content to the user.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein media content comprises at least one of the display output of the monitored device, text input of the monitored device and audio input of the monitored device.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein content tolerance level comprises threshold probability that the monitored media content contains inappropriate content from one or more categories of inappropriate content.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the monitoring and analysis circuit employs at least one of optical character recognition, image recognition, image classification, text recognition, voice recognition, speech recognition, and pattern recognition to monitor the media content.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the derived data comprises data to determine a probability that the captured media content contains inappropriate content.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the server analysis component determines that the flagged media content exceeds a tolerance level if a probability indicated by the derived data that the flagged media content contains inappropriate content exceeds a threshold probability that the captured media content contains inappropriate content from one or more categories of inappropriate content.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the monitoring device accepts feedback from the user of the monitoring device, the feedback comprising an indication from the user whether or not the flagged content displayed to the user constitutes inappropriate material according to standards of the user.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the feedback comprises at least one of:

an indication as to whether the flagged media content should have been determined by the server analysis component to constitute inappropriate material;

an indication as to the extent to which the flagged media content contains inappropriate content from one or more categories of inappropriate content;

a textual input describing characteristics of the captured media content; and

a textual input reciting text information contained in the captured media content.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the feedback data received by the monitoring device is used to train at least one of a machine learning algorithm used by the local analysis component and a machine learning algorithm used by the monitoring and analysis circuit.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the server and the monitoring device remotely restricts the functionality of the monitored device if the server analysis component determines that the flagged media content violates a content tolerance level.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein, wherein upon determining that the flagged media content violates a content tolerance level, at least one of the server and the monitoring device performs at least one of:

removing the violative content from the monitored device, blocking senders or recipients of the violative content from communicating with the monitored device, blocking the violative content itself, shutting down or disabling the monitored device, shutting down or disabling the application on which the violative content occurs, shutting down or disabling communication with the monitored device, and warning a supervisee about the violative content.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the derived data comprises text extracted from the captured media content.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the derived data comprises an identification of third parties associated with the flagged media content.

22. A method for monitoring a device, comprising the steps:

monitoring media content generated by, sent by or sent to an electronic monitored device;

generating derived data of the monitored media content with a monitored device local analysis component;

analyzing the derived data with a server analysis component to determine if the monitored media content exceeds a content threshold level setting for the monitored device;

generating an alert if the monitored media content is determined to exceed the content threshold level setting;

receiving the alert on an electronic monitoring device; and

viewing the monitored device media content on the monitoring device.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising the monitoring device accepting feedback from the user of the monitoring device, the feedback comprising an indication from the user whether or not the flagged content displayed to the user constitutes inappropriate material according to standards of the user.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the feedback comprises at least one of:

an indication as to whether the flagged media content should have been determined by the server analysis component to constitute inappropriate material;

an indication as to the extent to which the flagged media content contains inappropriate content from one or more categories of inappropriate content;

a textual input describing characteristics of the captured media content; and

a textual input reciting text information contained in the captured media content.