Child internet safety plans under fire over game censors

The government yesterday backed an ambitious blueprint by the TV psychologist Dr Tanya Byron to improve child safety online, but immediately faced a backlash over plans to introduce cinema-style ratings for video games.

The games industry criticised the plan to give the British Board of Film Classification a leading role in the licensing of games, amid concern that the censors would not be able to adapt as games were increasingly played and distributed on the web. Games publishers expect a large proportion of the games they produce to be downloaded over the internet in future, rather than sold in shops, and they believe the BBFC  will not be able to handle the volume and complexity.

Opposition MPs also hit out at the confusion they said would be created by a twin-track approach that will retain the pan-European game information system (PEGI), the industry's self-regulatory body, alongside the BBFC.

The video games industry, which will face a big test of its claims not to market and sell adult games to children when Grand Theft Auto IV is released at the end of next month, urged caution over Byron's plans to hand the lead role to the BBFC.

The director general of the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association, Paul Jackson, said the proposals needed more work. "We have a concern about the detail of the classification system she's outlined," he said. Games publishers believe PEGI is better placed to deliver a "future-proof" system.

But David Cooke, director of the BBFC, said: "The BBFC has been able to handle a major expansion of the DVD market over the last few years, and we are ready and able to take on the extra work envisaged by Dr Byron."

The BBFC's workload had already increased from 7,500 films in 2000 to 17,000 last year. "We have probably the most rigorous testing procedure for games in the world," said a spokeswoman. "We physically play every game, it's not a box- ticking exercise." A new system for film downloads could be extended to games.

The Tories and Liberal Democrats were also concerned about the proposed dual regime, designed to be easier for parents and less open to abuse. Under the plans, BBFC and PEGI will liaise on games for children under 12 and BBFC's PG, U or Uc ratings will go on the front and PEGI's 3+ and 7+ ratings on the back. The BBFC will take responsibility for 12, 15 and 18 games.

"We would welcome any move to a single, enforceable age rating system for computer games. However, such a system must be clear and easily understood by parents," said the shadow culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt. "The hybrid system suggested in this review fails to address this crucial issue. This is a missed opportunity."

Agreeing all the report's conclusions, Gordon Brown said Britain could "lead the world" in developing a regulatory regime for the digital age. The culture secretary, Andy Burnham, promised a more hands-on approach to internet regulation and a role for the media regulator Ofcom.

The report, Safer Children in a Digital World, commissioned by Brown from Byron, was published yesterday following six months of consultation. Its proposals included:

· A new UK council for child internet safety, reporting to the prime minister;

· A "comprehensive" public campaign on child internet safety;.

· Improved access to and pre-installation of parental control software;

· Reform of the classification system for video games.

"I'm challenging government and the industry to step up and make the digital world safer for young people," said Byron, who appeared in the BBC series Little Angels and House of Tiny Tearaways.

Family matters

Luan Austin Duch, 16, lives with his parents and younger brother Ben in Isleworth, west London. The family's one television and computer with internet access are yards apart in their sitting area.

"Usually when I come home I get a drink, chill out a bit, then turn on the computer: I spend quite a lot of time on Myspace and Facebook. There are usually a few messages waiting a reply, so that could take a good two hours. I definitely watch a lot less television than some of my friends.

"I can always tell when my mother pretends she's just coming over, but really she wants to know what's going on. Most of the people I'm talking to, I already know.

"The only dodgy people I've come across are on MSN."

Arianne Duch, Luan's mother.

"We took a conscious decision to have it all in the same room, it drives us mad, but I prefer it like that. Otherwise he'd just vanish off to his own room and we'd never see him. He tends to watch more grown-up things now, but he'll watch whatever rubbish is on the television. Otherwise he spends a lot of time on Myspace.

"We keep a fairly close eye on what he's doing: sometimes I'll go over to give him a hug just to see what he's up to.

"It's sometimes useful to pretend to be a fool, and ask to have something explained that I see on the screen. I don't know how safe it is really, but it feels pretty safe. I think if he came across something really scary, he would tell us."