Cinematical

According to The Guardian, The British Board of Film Classification (like the MPAA for the UK) is trying to extend their rating system to the internet. With sites like YouTube and Blinkx showcasing and indexing videos online without any sort of indicators to their content, the group is afraid that too many viewers are seeing things they would rather not. The BBFC doesn't wish to censor or block any sites or videos, just put up some kind of label that warns people about the presence of things like sex, violence and language. A spokesperson for the Board cited a compilation of videos entitled Terrorists, Killers and Middle East Wackos, which contain actual killings and attacks, saying that the material would have been banned in the UK via the Obscene Publications Act, had it been in any other format besides the web.

I can see where the BBFC is going with this, but I don't really understand how it could be possible. Considering the videos are not only available to British viewers, any system they planned would conflict with the rest of the world. They say the logical scenario would be to advise companies who run the sites, which I think is unlikely to work. Anyway, if the BBFC or another organization implements a rating system for the internet, chances are it will be more of an advisor of which videos are more indecent. Although the proposed system would not be a guide to parents so much as a guide to viewers, it would be the very antithesis of child protection.