There was a short question and answer session today in the House of
Lords on streaming platforms.
: To ask
Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the
partnership between Netflix and the British Board of Film
Classification to establish age ratings for streaming platforms;
and what plans they have to encourage other streaming platforms
to adopt such ratings
said the
government welcomed the voluntary use of BBFC ratings by video
on-demand platforms. Legislation in this area would be kept under
review.
The asked what the government would do if other
platforms did not follow the Netflfix example of adopting BBFC
ratings. The minister agreed that a consistent rating system was
required. The government was looking at asking the Public Service
Broadcaster Panel to review the system.
asked about the importance of making it clear that fictional work
such as The Crown was not presented as fact. The minister replied
that Netflix had issued a disclaimer.
asked about the
broadcasting of age-appropriate content. said the
government had issued guidance on how to keep children safe
online.
said Netflix’s content guidelines were primarily driven by
algorithms, which differed significantly from how BBFC arrived at
their advice on content. The minister said the BBFC verified and
audited Netflix’s ratings.
asked
what more could be done to make parents take age rating of video
games more seriously. The minister said the government was
actively pursuing the use for online games of the Pan-European
Game Information age ratings.
welcomed Neftlix’s adoption of BBFC ratings and
called on other platforms like Disney, Amazon Prime and Apple to
do the same.
