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Movie-style ratings for video games
28.03.08
Video games will be forced to carry cinema-style age classifications to improve children's safety in the digital age under a new strategy.
Psychologist Tanya Byron called for an overhaul of games classification, while her report also recommended 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, who is 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.
She called for a public information campaign and urged industry to establish transparent codes of practice on areas such as user-generated content, regulation of online advertising and parental control software.
The report was commissioned last year by Prime Minister Gordon Brown amid concerns that new electronic forms of entertainment may be harming the development of children's moral value systems.
Joining Schools Secretary Ed Balls and Culture Secretary Andy Burnham at a gaming centre in central London at the launch of the report, 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 kids were "digital natives" while parents were "digital immigrants" and adults needed help understanding online and video game risks.
"When kids go online it's the same as walking through the front door, walking out into the street," she said.
Mr Balls said the UK could lead the way globally in digital safety for children.
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