Report: Movie-Style Age Ratings Coming to Websites

LOS ANGELES — The British government is asking President-elect Barack Obama to help it bring the online version of movie ratings to the English-speaking web.

Calling the Internet "quite a dangerous place," U.K. Culture Secretary Andy Burnham told The Daily Telegraph that he wants Internet service providers (ISPs) to begin cleaning up the web by offering "child-safe" services including movie-style age ratings; as well as deploying other measures that will apply new standards of decency to the web.

The move is part of a new government crackdown on "offensive and harmful" Internet sites and activity scheduled for the New Year.

Burnham's big plans to control the Internet and censor certain websites are predictably facing stiff opposition from a wide variety of interests, but he remains undaunted.

"If you look back at the people who created the Internet they talked very deliberately about creating a space that Governments couldn't reach," Burnham said. "I think we have to revisit that stuff seriously now. It's true across the board in terms of content, harmful content, and copyright. Libel is [also] an emerging issue."

"There is content that should just not be available to be viewed," Burnham said. "This is not a campaign against free speech, far from it; it is simply [that] there is a wider public interest at stake when it involves harm to other people."

"We have got to get better at defining where the public interest lies and being clear about it," Burnham added.

While some proposals, such as those to curb copyright violations, could be implemented by ISPs, new laws could be enacted if such an approach proves unsuccessful. Citing the success of showing adult television content only after 9 p.m. as a measure to protect children, the minister called for formalized rules to prevent children from accessing inappropriate material.

"I think there is definitely a case for clearer standards online," he said, calling for "more ability for parents to understand if their child is on a site; what standards it is operating to; [and] what protections are in place."

Burnham wants ISPs to provide "child-safe" web access and also wants to impose time limits within which websites would have to remove "offensive or harmful content" after being notified of its presence on the site. Specifically targeting user-generated sites such as Facebook and YouTube, penalties for missing the deadline to remove reported postings were not specified. Another provision calls for an update in libel laws to provide individuals who are defamed online with access to low-cost legal services.

Burnham stated that these new legal proposals being drafted by the Ministry of Justice are "utterly crucial" and will require the expected help of President-Elect Barack Obama to implement these major changes.

"The change of administration is a big moment. We have got a real opportunity to make common cause," Burnham said. "The more we seek international solutions to this stuff — the U.K. and the U.S. working together — the more that an international norm will set an industry norm."

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

AEBN Reveals Avery Lust as Top Trans Star for Q3 of 2025

AEBN has published its top trans stars list for the third quarter of 2025, with Avery Lust landing atop the leaderboard.

FSC: California's Device-Based AV Law Does Not Apply to Adult

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) put out an advisory today explaining that California's new device-based age verification law does not apply to adult websites.

Reena Sky Launches New Paysite

Reena Sky has launched her new official paysite, ILoveReenaSky.com.

NextGen Payment Joins ASACP as Corporate Sponsor

NextGen Payment has signed on as the latest corporate sponsor for the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP).

Lauren Phillips, Derek Kage Cap AEBN's Top Stars for 3rd Quarter of 2025

AEBN has revealed its most popular performers in straight and gay theaters for the third quarter of 2025.

XBIZ 2026 Conference to Debut All-New Company Lounges, Community Track

The event website for XBIZ 2026 is now live, unveiling details for North America’s largest adult industry conference, including two all-new show features: Company Lounges and a Community Track.

Mymember.site Integrates VR Functionality

Mymember.site has added virtual reality playback capability to its website management platform.

Texas Patti to Launch Fetish Platform 'EmpireDom'

Performer and content creator Texas Patti is launching a new platform for doms and fetish creators, EmpireDom.com.

Ohio AG Threatens Action Against 'Major' Adult Sites Over AV Law

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced today that his office is sending "notice of violation" letters to 19 adult websites for failure to comply with the state's recently enacted age verification law.

Chaturbate Announces 2025 Music Contest Winners

Chaturbate has revealed the winners of its 2025 music competition.

Show More