By Mark Wilson  Posted on 8/19/2014

 

Head to the stores to look for real, physical DVDs and Blu-rays, and you'll probably find that there's an age rating on them. Now plans are afoot to bring the same idea to the web. As insane an idea as this may sound, this is actually happening, and it is completely pointless and unworkable. Initially starting off with the involvement of YouTube and Vevo, the scheme is the brainchild of UK Prime Minister David Cameron and will start as a pilot program in October. It's something that is likely to appeal to concerned parents, but the practicalities are a rather different matter.

Announcing the ratings plan, Cameron said: "We shouldn't cede the internet as some sort of lawless space where the normal rules of life shouldn't apply. So, in as far as it is possible, we should try to make sure that the rules that exist offline exist online. So if you want to go and buy a music video offline there are age restrictions on it. We should try and recreate that system on the internet".

No details have been given about just how the scheme will work -- probably because it won't work. As I see it, there are two possible outcomes, neither of which will have any of the effect Cameron was hoping for. If videos are simply assigned ratings, viewers will know ahead of time the type of content they are likely to be letting themselves for: a PG-rated music video is going to be more "suitable" for a younger audience than a video rated 18 orX.

 

betanews/full article here/ http://betanews.com/2014/08/19/plans-to-slap-age-ratings-on-online-videos-are-completely-and-utterly-pointless/