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Darren Waters

Your Byron Review hopes/fears

  • Darren Waters
  • 26 Mar 08, 12:58 GMT

is to release her government-backed review into the net, video games and children on Thursday and we'll be covering its findings online, on TV and on radio.

At the time the review was announced there was a lot of grumbling from people in the games industry unhappy that games were being lumped in with the net.

Dr Tanya ByronThe crux of the dismay was that while the video games industry is a well-regulated, important creative industry the net is effectively the Wild West; so why the need to combine the two?

I spoke with Tanya Byron at the end of last year and I got the impression she would have preferred to separate the two out but time and money was never going to make this possible.

So what are your hopes and fears for the Byron Review?

More regulation? Cyber police? Fines for websites that don't enforce child-friendly policies?

My expectation is that the Review will walk a careful line between education and awareness with little in the way of direct regulation/legislation, and probably none at all.

But we'll all know more soon.

Comments

  • 1.
  • At 01:49 PM on 26 Mar 2008,
  • Marko wrote:

Reading some recent news stories regarding "addiction to the Internet is an illness", I'm sure there will be evidence that heavy users suffer isolation, fatigue and withdrawal symptoms. Does new evidence show that painting, writing, acting, singing and reading books can be an illness too?

I am a little concerned (but probably without reason) that the government could force legislation onto net. users/developers under the banner of child protection. Child protection is such an issue that anyone who argued against any child protection based policies that impeded online freedoms they would be shot down in flames by www.dailymail.co.uk readers and their cronies.

I can't speak to the net side of the debate, but I hope there is a strong focus on parental responsibility as far as games goes. It's not like there is not information available to parents about the games they are buying, it's that they fail to use it; hopefully the report will suggest ways in which this can be improved.

I would also like to see the rating system changed so that the BBFC is the sole rating system. I choose the BBFC not necessarily because they do a better or worse job rating games than PEGI, but rather that people generally identify more clearly with the same symbology that is already used for film and DVDs.

The net topics are a little more complicated, it's incredibly hard trying the regulate sites that can just move out of your jurisdiction. Saying that the one fear I have is that they will suggest some kind of ISP level filter for not just illegal sites which is perfectly understandable, but also for sites with what some people consider undesirable content. The implementation of this kind of system wanders dangerously close to breaching free speech, and you have huge issues with trying to figure out where the line should be drawn.

I was involved with this.
Looking at some of the responses to the questionnaire that I saw, nothing significant will change.
There is already enough going on with regards education.
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) have a fantastic education programme consisting of a resources for primary schools and secondary schools, and even parents, and including some rather hard-hitting films.
What's more, ITV's 'The Bill' will be tackling the issues of online grooming directly this evening, although it is fictitious, it is still raising awareness.
Having reviewed all of the major websites from a child protection perspective, a majority of the risks are 'self-generated'. Facebook has a minimum age of 13 for a reason, I don't see why then, 12, 11 and even 10 year olds feel the need to register.
I for one would like to see some real form of age verification for the websites, and one that would be hard to crack. People should have a serial number on their birth certificate or something, and use it to register, and only be able to once etc. Simply because of the risks and cost, That will never happen.
As it stands, there is not much we can do with regards child protection, where young people go, offenders follow, simple. Young people are attracted to the fact that they are very much in control on these websites, and so, child sex offenders will follow, being equally attracted to the freedom.
IF facebook insisted that every little thing had to be assessed by it's staff, it wouldn't be nearly as popular as it is where you are responsible for what you do!
Sorry to use Facebook, it's just an example, and as far as what I say here goes, they are all the same.
I personally think some serious action needs taking, but nobody will, simply because they don't have the money or anything else!

Videogames have never been only for children, the hardcore gaming demographic is 18-34 year old males. Consequently there are games suitable for youngsters, some for teenagers and some for adults. The certification issue seems pretty straight-forward but if government feels the need to further clarify for parents who haven't caught up with the 21st Century or feel unable to ask at the check-out then so be it.

I do hope however that the Review and subsequent media coverage will take into account the very positive use that off-the-shelf games are being put to for learning. For example schools in Scotland have been using Nintendogs in a quite remarkable way:

  • 6.
  • At 09:28 AM on 27 Mar 2008,
  • David Cook wrote:

I have previously worked in games retail for five years total and am now curenntly a video game freelance journalist in Edinburgh.

I have lost track of the amount of times in the past where a parent brings their child up to the counter with their seven year old child to buy a copy of an 18 rated game. As a legal requirement all game store staff are obliged to politely remind the adult that the game is not suitable for their child, outlining some of the reasons if they wish.

Now, I always made a point of listing reasons such as carjacking, drug use etc. Yet the parent either took offense at daring to question their authority or simply stated 'thats fine' Now, what is wrong with this scenario?

I am worried as an industry insider that this report will simply further stigmatise the games industy and will result in further finger pointing from parents who are simply too ill-educated to understand that they are to blame.

Games are an art form, lets not beat about the bush anymore, if anyone tried to censor an art exhibition, there would be an outrage. If a game has an 18 rated certificate and has passed the BBFC, the responsibility to keep kids from playing the game no longer rests with the games industry. It rests with parents.

Games are a rich, valuable entertainment form, painted up as a monster by parents and MPS who have little or no knowledge of their content or have never picked up a joypad in their life. This report is a waste of time and any industry insider could have told you what it has found months ago.

  • 7.
  • At 01:42 PM on 27 Mar 2008,
  • tiny wrote:

What would be like a breath of fresh air, if such people as Dr Tanya Byron focused upon issues they raised.

Dr Tanya Byron has raised so many important issues for people to consider, in fact some quite in depth reports. But Dr Tanya Byron appears to highlight the issues and never vigorously pursues them or even supports such statements.

I do however fear that because this issue has been raised so many times and by several people, such people have all been linked to Government offices. Just maybe this is a direct or indirect ploy to implement further backdoor policies.

Dr Tanya Byron raised the issue around the impacts upon children in poor housing. But I see little difference has been achieved with that issue, in fact I just noticed on Shelters web site that the numbers suffering as actually increased.

My point is this, why hasn’t Dr Tanya Byron pursued this issue, more so when Dr Tanya Byron is acting on behalf of the Government?

Surely it must leave some to ponder the values of such statements, does it not?

Could it be that children playing on expensive games are more likely to be middle class?

Whereas overcrowded conditions are more likely to belong to the lower classes of society?

While inappropriate material and outside contact are causes for concern, Cyber-bullying amongst youngsters is the stand out issue.

Young people need a solution to report, handle and prevent bullying from occurring. The government needs to address this issue as quickly as possible.

Beatbullying is working with the industry to deliver the Cybermentors programme - an adaptation of Beatbullying’s proven prevention model, which will train young people as Cybermentors to help and support other young people who are victims of bullying via online platforms.

Young people can then take responsibility for bullying and have the power to take action but the government needs to support and invest in the solution that is Cybermentors.

~ Tony Holmes, Beatbullying – www.beatbullying.org

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