News story

Measures to protect children announced

Government reveals further plans to prevent commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

More music DVDs and Blu-ray discs could be given age ratings to protect children from inappropriate material.

The government has today announced it will consult on the proposal and also work with the music industry, online retailers and video services to have clear warnings on explicit videos when they are shown online.

The plans are among measures set out today following recommendations of Reg Bailey’s independent review into protecting children from commercialisation and sexualisation. Other measures include:

  • putting the final stage of legislation in place to allow the planned new system of age classification for video games to start in July;
  • asking the Advertising Standards Authority to consider whether more should be done to spell out the commercial intent of ‘advergames’ to young people and their parents.

Mr Bailey said: “Ending the exemptions from age classification for hard copy music videos will be an important step forward in making sure that children are not inadvertently exposed to unsuitable material. And it will send a strong signal to producers of music videos intended for online distribution or broadcast of what is acceptable if they want to reach the correct audience. This is a major concern for parents.”

As part of the response to the Bailey review a number of steps have already been taken, including setting up the ParentPort website and setting stricter guidelines on sexual images in outdoor advertising, particularly near schools.

Further information

Published 9 May 2012