Downloads get new rating system
- Added:
- May 27, 2008
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is to launch a voluntary scheme to apply its rating system to downloadable movies and videogames.
The independent regulator of the film and video industry in the UK said it will now rate a wide range of online content as part of the new scheme.
However, the company was quick to say the aim of the program is not to ‘censor the Internet’ and will not rate online games such as World of Warcraft.
Companies such as 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, and Walt Disney Studios have already signed up for the new service, called BBFC.online.
More than 600 downloadable movies and videogames have already been given the BBFC ratings certificates.
The head of policy at the BBFC, Peter Johnson said that BBFC is already in talks with all major companies dealing in such online content to sign up with this new ratings system.
He said that if a company is delivering a game or a movie via the internet instead of using the more conventional forms of delivery such as mail order, then it can sign up for the ratings system; however, the new system is not applicable to games hosted online.
In order to add to Johnson’s comments, David Cooke, Director, BBFC, said that BBFC will have to work collaboratively with PEGI Online in order to provide a better rating system for online games.