Censors want 18 ratings on internet

Censors want 18 ratings on internet

By Chris Hastings and Beth Jones, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 12:35am BST 24/06/2007

Cinema-style ratings are to be introduced on the internet in an attempt to protect children from hardcore pornography and graphic violence.

The British Board of Film Classification wants the most explicit online material to carry a new version of the R18 certificate which normally only applies to material bought in sex shops or screened in specially licensed cinemas.

The new online R18 ratings, subject of a pilot scheme now being run by the board, could be introduced as early as next month if, as expected, the Government backs the scheme. It will be the first time that a British watchdog has tried to regulate access to internet material.

There was concern last night, however, that the scheme would not go far enough to protect the millions of children who daily surf the web.

The system, which is backed by the sex industry, would see porn available for download or streaming clearly labelled as being unsuitable for children. Access to such material would be via a "landing page" which would contain clear warnings, be free of sexual images and require users to verify their age.

Details of the scheme are contained in correspondence between the film board and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, obtained by The Sunday Telegraph under the Freedom of Information Act.

In March, David Cooke, the board's director, wrote to Phil Clapp, who leads the department's creative industries division, saying that the board believed the scheme "will allow UK customers to avoid inadvertently being exposed to material which may be illegal and/or harmful".

But John Beyer, the director of the watchdog Mediawatch UK, said the system was "utterly useless" as people would still be able to access the material. "A lot of children have their own money and bank accounts and so it's not a problem for teenagers to download 18-rated films," he said.