皇冠体育app

皇冠体育app strict controls to prevent children from accessing hard-core pornographic material through video-on-demand (VoD) services will be secured as part of the comprehensive review of communications legislation currently being undertaken, Communications Minister Ed Vaizey announced today.

Rules are already in place which mean that video which the BBFC would classify as R18 - pornography which is explicit and sold in licensed sex shops, but not illegal - can be made available through VoD services only if controls are in place to prevent children from accessing it.

皇冠体育app Authority for Television On Demand (ATVOD) is the independent regulator for VoD services and enforces regulations which ensure that any material which might seriously impair children鈥檚 physical, mental or moral development must not be freely available. Access controls such as pin protection must be put in place if R18-type content is to be made available on anytime television services or TV-like services over the internet.

But, in the light of an Ofcom report which recommended a precautionary approach to protecting children and new legislation, the Government has today committed to securing the present controls and looking at whether the legal position should be bolstered further by future-proofing legislation as part of the current review of communications policy.
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Mr Vaizey said:

鈥溁使谔逵齛pp Government is clear that children must be protected from harmful content, on television or online. We have made it a priority to address the concerns of parents that their kids are being exposed to material that鈥檚 not appropriate for them to see.听

鈥淲ithout a doubt we want to make sure that video-on-demand services carrying adult material cannot be seen by children and it鈥檚 already a legal requirement that any such content has access controls.

鈥淏ut the communications review gives us an opportunity to consider whether there鈥檚 more we should do to ensure children remain protected and to limit access to potentially harmful material, such as introducing unclassified material into the statutory framework.鈥�

A starting point is Ofcom鈥檚 report to Government, 鈥淪exually Explicit Material and Video On Demand Services鈥� which is published today.

皇冠体育app review will look at the availability of both R18-type material, and video content which is stronger than that classified as R18 by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) but still might be made available to adults.

Ensuring the effectiveness of strict controls on VoD services will also complement the recommendations made by Reg Bailey in his independent review of the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood, .

Notes to editors

1. Ofcom鈥檚 report 听(External PDF)

2. 听(PDF 180kb)

3. 皇冠体育app British Board of Film Classification鈥檚 R18 classification is primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults. It may be shown only in specially licensed cinemas or supplied in licensed sex shops to adults aged 18 years or older. .

4. 皇冠体育app Audio-Visual Media Services Directive states that: 鈥淚f an on-demand programme service contains material which might seriously impair the physical, mental or moral development of persons under the age of 18, the material must be made available in a manner which secures that such persons will not normally see or hear it鈥�. This has been introduced to UK law.

5. 皇冠体育app Government is undertaking a wide-scale review of the regulatory framework supporting the UK communications sector. 皇冠体育appre is a commitment to legislate during this Parliament. .听

6. 皇冠体育app Government has welcomed the analysis made by Reg Bailey in his report _Letting Children Be Children _and the thrust of all the recommendations he has made.听.

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