Video games to carry ratings

VIDEO games will carry cinema-style age classifications to boost child safety under a strategy announced in Britain yesterday.

Psychologist Tanya Byron has called for an overhaul of games classification, while her report also recommends the creation of a UK Council for Child Internet Safety.

The council would report to the prime minister, represented by charities, parent’s groups and the industry.

Dr Byron, best known for her work as child behaviour guru on TV show Little Angels and House of Tiny Tearaways, said her proposals would help bridge the “digital divide” experienced by parents brought up in the analogue age.

The report was commissioned last year by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown amid concerns that new electronic forms of entertainment may be harming the development of children’s moral value systems.

Dr Byron said: “It is with the interests of young people in mind that I am challenging industry and the Government to step up to make digital worlds safer.”

She said children were “digital natives” while parents were “digital immigrants” and adults needed help understanding online and video game risks.

British Schools Secretary Ed Balls said the Government would adopt proposals immediately, with the safety council up and running before the end of the year.

At present, only games showing sex or gross violence require a rating from the British Board of Film Classification and less than 2% carry an 18 certificate.

A legally binding system would ensure every game is rated, with a U (Universal), PG (Parental Guidance), 12, 15 and 18 classification.

Dr Byron said the classifications should be displayed on the front of the games.

The European classification system PEGI (Pan European Games Information), which is a voluntary pictorial system without any legal standing, will still be used.

Ireland is a founder member of PEGI. The deputy censor of the Irish Film Censor Office, Ger Connolly, is a member of the PEGI Advisory Board.