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August 18, 2015

UK govt takes steps to censor music videos for children

Government wants independent UK music labels to show age rating.

By CBR Staff Writer

The UK Government is working with digital video content providers like Vevo, YouTube and the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) to stop children from viewing age inappropriate videos on the internet.

Children have easy access to online music videos and parents are concerned about the lyrics and visuals in videos which are inappropriate for viewing by children.

In 2014, a pilot programme backed by the Government introduced age ratings for online music videos to allow digital service providers to show an easily recognisable age rating on videos posted on the web.

The initiative was taken up by BBFC in association with Vevo and YouTube.

An earlier study conducted by BBFC, found that 60% of the children aged between 10 to 17 are viewing videos which they think would not be approved by their parents.

Vevo is working on plans to link these age ratings to additional technology on their platform that can support age controls.

Music labels in the UK showcase their videos to BBFC and get the ratings from them, which is later displayed across Vevo and YouTube.

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Based on the present plot, the government has agreed with the UK music industry to make the system of displaying the ratings permanent for videos produced in the UK by major record labels permanent.

YouTube EMEA content partnerships manager Candice Morrissey said:"We have been working with the participants in this pilot to help them display the BBFC’s age ratings on their music videos on YouTube.

"These ratings are in addition to the controls we already provide on YouTube including the ability for uploaders to add age warnings to videos and a restricted mode."

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