UK Video Standards Council Prepares Videogame Ban Criteria

The way videogames are being evaluated before they go on sales in the United Kingdom is set to change as the British Board of Film Classification loses its rights over the industry and as the Video Standards Council takes over those responsibilities as the PEGI system comes into effect.

The change is mandated by the Digital Economy Bill, which is at the moment in the House of Lords and will be shortly sent to the House of Commons. And the VSC has now announced the formation of an Expert Advisory Panel that will be putting together a set of criteria that will be used to evaluate the possibility of banning a videogame from sale.

The newly announced panel of advisers is made up of: Tanya Byron, who conducted a review for the British government related to videogames, Guy Cumberbatch, an expert on videogame violence, Geoffrey Robertson, who specializes on the legal side of media, Mary MacLeod, a former Family and Parenting Institute director, Tony Lake, the former Lincolnshire Police chief constable, and Chris Atkinson, who heads the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. They will be consulted every time the VSC is considering banning any videogame from sales in the United Kingdom.

Gillian Shephard, a Member of Parliament and chairman of the Video Standards Council, stated that “The newly established VSC Expert Advisory Panel will play a key role. The VSC will have the ability to effectively 'ban' a video game from supply in the UK if it infringes the limits set out in the law. Any such decision will not be taken lightly and will involve a number of legal, clinical and psychological issues.”

It's good to see some people who have experience with videogaming actually brought into the decision process, as opposed to games being bundled together with movies in the BBFC. Let's hope that the new entity will not ban too many titles in the coming years.