As the designated body for age classification of film content, the Government has great trust in the British Board of Film Classification’s (BBFC) best practice age ratings and continues to support the adoption of BBFC ratings for content on video on demand platforms.

While adoption of the BBFC’s age ratings by such platforms is currently voluntary, we welcome their usage and were particularly pleased to see Netflix announce on 1 December 2020 that they have become the first platform to achieve complete coverage of their content under the BBFC’s ratings.

The Government has not made any specific assessment regarding parents’ expectations of video-on-demand platforms’ content being classified in line with the BBFC's standards, or the barriers that platforms face to adopting the ratings. We note, however, that the BBFC regularly consults with the public and publishes its research online. The Government continues to engage with platforms to adopt the BBFC’s ratings across all of their content, and will keep the evidence for legislation in this area under review.

As the designated body for age classification of film content, the Government has great trust in the British Board of Film Classification’s (BBFC) best practice age ratings and continues to support the adoption of BBFC ratings for content on video on demand platforms.

While adoption of the BBFC’s age ratings by such platforms is currently voluntary, we welcome their usage and were particularly pleased to see Netflix announce on 1 December 2020 that they have become the first platform to achieve complete coverage of their content under the BBFC’s ratings.

The Government has not made any specific assessment regarding parents’ expectations of video-on-demand platforms’ content being classified in line with the BBFC's standards, or the barriers that platforms face to adopting the ratings. We note, however, that the BBFC regularly consults with the public and publishes its research online. The Government continues to engage with platforms to adopt the BBFC’s ratings across all of their content, and will keep the evidence for legislation in this area under review.

As the designated body for age classification of film content, the Government has great trust in the British Board of Film Classification’s (BBFC) best practice age ratings and continues to support the adoption of BBFC ratings for content on video on demand platforms.

While adoption of the BBFC’s age ratings by such platforms is currently voluntary, we welcome their usage and were particularly pleased to see Netflix announce on 1 December 2020 that they have become the first platform to achieve complete coverage of their content under the BBFC’s ratings.

The Government has not made any specific assessment regarding parents’ expectations of video-on-demand platforms’ content being classified in line with the BBFC's standards, or the barriers that platforms face to adopting the ratings. We note, however, that the BBFC regularly consults with the public and publishes its research online. The Government continues to engage with platforms to adopt the BBFC’s ratings across all of their content, and will keep the evidence for legislation in this area under review.

The British Board of Film Classification’s (BBFC) age ratings are currently used by a number of video on demand providers and, although adoption is voluntary, we welcome their use. Over the past year, we have been working with the BBFC and industry to drive the voluntary adoption of the BBFC’s age rating symbols to video on demand services. We were particularly pleased to see Netflix announce on 1 December 2020 that they have become the first video on demand service to achieve complete coverage of their content under the BBFC’s ratings.

The UK’s Audiovisual Media Services Regulations 2020, which transposed the revised EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive, were made and laid in Parliament on 30 September 2020. Following Parliament’s approval, the video sharing platform regime, for which Ofcom is the regulator, came into force on 1 November 2020. UK-established video sharing platforms must now take appropriate measures to protect the public, including minors, from illegal and harmful material.

Video sharing platforms are not currently mandated to adopt BBFC ratings, nor is it expected that they will be mandated to do so under Ofcom’s regulatory regime for video sharing platforms. In order to comply with the video sharing platform regime, age assurance measures may be adopted by video sharing platforms along with other measures such as age ratings and parental controls. Age assurance measures comprise a broad range of technical measures which can be used by a service to establish the age of their users. Under the video sharing platform regime, services must take into account freedom of expression and should consider what measures are most appropriate and proportionate prior to introducing them.

Ofcom and the BBFC have a strong collaborative relationship when working on audience protection issues. The BBFC is engaging actively with both Ofcom and video sharing platforms to share their expertise on emerging technologies and the applicability of content ratings on those platforms.

Protecting children is at the heart of our online harms agenda and of wider government priorities. Where sites host user-generated content or facilitate online user interaction such as video and image sharing, commenting and live streaming, then that content will be subject to the new duty of care to be introduced under the Online Safety Bill. The government is working at pace to prepare the Bill, which will be ready this year.

We will continue to engage with industry to encourage platforms to use BBFC ratings to keep children safe online. We will keep the evidence for legislation in this area under review.

The British Board of Film Classification’s (BBFC) age ratings are currently used by a number of video on demand providers and, although adoption is voluntary, we welcome their use. Over the past year, we have been working with the BBFC and industry to drive the voluntary adoption of the BBFC’s age rating symbols to video on demand services. We were particularly pleased to see Netflix announce on 1 December 2020 that they have become the first video on demand service to achieve complete coverage of their content under the BBFC’s ratings.

The UK’s Audiovisual Media Services Regulations 2020, which transposed the revised EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive, were made and laid in Parliament on 30 September 2020. Following Parliament’s approval, the video sharing platform regime, for which Ofcom is the regulator, came into force on 1 November 2020. UK-established video sharing platforms must now take appropriate measures to protect the public, including minors, from illegal and harmful material.

Video sharing platforms are not currently mandated to adopt BBFC ratings, nor is it expected that they will be mandated to do so under Ofcom’s regulatory regime for video sharing platforms. In order to comply with the video sharing platform regime, age assurance measures may be adopted by video sharing platforms along with other measures such as age ratings and parental controls. Age assurance measures comprise a broad range of technical measures which can be used by a service to establish the age of their users. Under the video sharing platform regime, services must take into account freedom of expression and should consider what measures are most appropriate and proportionate prior to introducing them.

Ofcom and the BBFC have a strong collaborative relationship when working on audience protection issues. The BBFC is engaging actively with both Ofcom and video sharing platforms to share their expertise on emerging technologies and the applicability of content ratings on those platforms.

Protecting children is at the heart of our online harms agenda and of wider government priorities. Where sites host user-generated content or facilitate online user interaction such as video and image sharing, commenting and live streaming, then that content will be subject to the new duty of care to be introduced under the Online Safety Bill. The government is working at pace to prepare the Bill, which will be ready this year.

We will continue to engage with industry to encourage platforms to use BBFC ratings to keep children safe online. We will keep the evidence for legislation in this area under review.

The British Board of Film Classification’s (BBFC) age ratings are used by a number of video on demand providers and although adoption is voluntary, we welcome their use. On 1 December 2020, we were pleased to see Netflix become the first video on demand platform to achieve complete coverage of their content under the BBFC’s ratings.

The UK’s Audiovisual Media Services Regulations 2020, which transposed the revised EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive, were made and laid in Parliament on 30 September 2020. Following Parliament’s approval, the video sharing platform regime, for which Ofcom is the regulator, came into force on 1 November 2020. UK-established video sharing platforms must now take appropriate measures to protect the public, including minors, from illegal and harmful material.

Under this regime, video sharing platforms are not currently mandated to adopt BBFC ratings, nor is it expected that they will be mandated to do so. However, in order to comply with the regime, age assurance measures and measures such as age ratings and parental controls, may be adopted by video sharing platforms. Age assurance measures comprise a broad range of technical measures which can be used by a service to establish the age of their users. The BBFC is engaging actively with both Ofcom and video sharing platforms to share their expertise and discuss the applicability of content ratings on those platforms.

In line with the government’s commitment to keep children safe online, the government is working at pace to prepare the Online Safety Bill, which will be ready this year.

The British Board of Film Classification’s (BBFC) age ratings are currently used by a number of video on demand providers and, although adoption is voluntary, we welcome their use. We were particularly pleased to see Netflix announce on 1 December 2020 that they have become the first platform to achieve complete coverage of their content under the BBFC’s ratings. We will continue to engage with industry to encourage platforms to use age ratings, and will keep the evidence for legislation in this area under review.

The video sharing platform regime, for which Ofcom is the regulator, came into force on 1 November 2020. UK-established video sharing platforms must now take appropriate measures to protect the public, including minors, from illegal and harmful material. Video sharing platforms are not currently mandated to adopt BBFC ratings, nor is it expected that they will be mandated to do so under Ofcom’s regulatory regime for video sharing platforms. In order to comply with the video sharing platform regime, age assurance measures may be adopted by video sharing platforms along with other measures such as age ratings and parental controls. Age assurance measures comprise a broad range of technical measures which can be used by a service to establish the age of their users. Under the video sharing platform regime, services must take into account freedom of expression and should consider what measures are most appropriate and proportionate prior to introducing them.

Ofcom and the BBFC have a strong collaborative relationship when working on audience protection issues. The BBFC is engaging actively with both Ofcom and video sharing platforms to share their expertise on emerging technologies and the applicability of content ratings.

Protecting children is at the heart of our online harms agenda, and wider government priorities. Where sites host user-generated content or facilitate online user interaction such as video and image sharing, commenting and live streaming, then that content will be subject to the new duty of care. The government is working at pace to prepare online safety legislation, which will be ready this year.

The British Board of Film Classification’s (BBFC) age ratings are currently used by a number of video on demand providers and, although adoption is voluntary, we welcome their use. We were particularly pleased to see Netflix announce on 1 December 2020 that they have become the first platform to achieve complete coverage of their content under the BBFC’s ratings. We will continue to engage with industry to encourage platforms to use age ratings, and will keep the evidence for legislation in this area under review.

Regulation of video sharing platforms (VSPs), for which Ofcom is the regulator, came into force on 1 November 2020. UK-established VSPs must now take appropriate measures to protect the public, including minors, from illegal and harmful material. In order to comply with the VSP regime, age assurance measures may be adopted by VSPs along with other measures such as age ratings and parental controls. The video sharing platform regime does not, however, mandate the use of age ratings. Platforms must take into account freedom of expression and should consider what measures are most appropriate and proportionate when introducing them.

Protecting children is at the heart of our online harms agenda. Sites that host user-generated content or facilitate online user interaction, such as sites with video sharing capabilities, will be subject to the new duty of care we will introduce under online safety legislation. Under our proposals, companies likely to be accessed by children will be required to assess the risks that material on their service poses to children of different ages, and to put in place age-appropriate protective measures. The government is working at pace to prepare online safety legislation, which will be ready this year.

As the designated body for age classification of film content, the Government has great trust in the British Board of Film Classification’s (BBFC) best practice age ratings.

While adoption of the BBFC’s age ratings by online platforms is currently voluntary, we welcome their usage by Video on Demand platforms. We were particularly pleased to see Netflix announce on 1 December 2020 that they have become the first platform to achieve complete coverage of their content under the BBFC’s ratings. We will continue to engage with industry to encourage other Video on Demand platforms to adopt the BBFC’s ratings across all of their content, and will keep the evidence for legislation in this area under review.

The video sharing platform regime, for which Ofcom is the regulator, came into force on 1 November 2020. UK-established video sharing platforms must now take appropriate measures to protect the public, including minors, from illegal and harmful material. The BBFC is engaging actively with both Ofcom and video sharing platforms to share their expertise on emerging technologies and the applicability of content ratings on the streaming platforms.

I agree with my noble friend’s last remark about this system being trusted. The Government have great trust in the BBFC’s best-practice age ratings. On his suggestion that we bang heads

together, we aim to approach things more gently, but we are actively engaging with the industry to encourage other platforms to adopt the BBFC’s ratings across all their content, and will keep the evidence for legislation in this area under review.

I thank my noble friend the Minister for that reply, but there is a wider issue with BBFC certification. The recently launched Disney streaming service ran a documentary originally certificated by the BBFC as suitable for those aged 18 and over. Disney chose to self-certificate it as suitable for 12 and over. Believe me, some scenes in that documentary were truly horrific. To protect children, will the Government, as a matter of urgency, bang heads together and get every streaming service to sign up to the BBFC system, which is tried and trusted?

My noble friend makes a valid point, and I know that parents have had extraordinary challenges in this area, particularly over the last year. She is aware that we are developing a media literacy strategy and that, last year, we published guidance on online safety for children. We should also remember that our broadcasters have educated, entertained and informed our children in the last year.

My Lords, I declare a past interest as a member of the first British video classification council, chaired by Lord Harewood. It was difficult then, so I ask the Minister how parents can be expected to manage their children’s screen time today, when there is such a lack of regulation and a slow government response.

I assure the noble Viscount that they will be set out in the legislation. Ofcom will have wide-ranging powers to tackle both illegal and harmful content. I am happy to write to him with more detail.

The Government’s response to the online harms White Paper says that:

“The regulator will be required to have regard to the fact that children have different needs at different ages when preparing codes of practice relevant to the protection of children.”

What powers will Ofcom have to provide sufficient oversight and ensure enforcement of these additional protections? Will they be set out in the online safety Bill?

The noble Lord will be aware that the adoption of BBFC ratings, particularly by Netflix, is a relatively recent development, so we have not yet made an assessment of its impact on both accessibility of content and other streaming services. As I said to my noble friend Lord Grade, we are keeping this under review.

In December, the Minister spoke of the voluntary nature of the BBFC scheme, which she reminded us of earlier for video-on-demand services. One of the strengths of the BBFC’s ratings is that they are well understood by parents and children alike. The same cannot be said for the inconsistent approaches adopted by platforms offering user-generated content. How do the Government plan to balance the undeniable need for change, to which noble Lords have referred, with their wish to minimise regulation, which is clearly not working at the moment?

We do not believe that we are running against the tide. The online harms legislation, which we have discussed extensively in this House and which I know we will debate in great detail in future, will make us a world leader in this regard.