Regulatory Bodies

REGULATORY BODIES

BRITISH BOARD OF FILM CLASSIFICATIONS

The BBFC publishes short but detailed information about all the films and videos we rate. This is called BBFCinsight. It gives parents a clear idea of how and why films have been rated and what issues the films contain. BBFCinsight helps parents, carers and other viewers make

informed choices about what they watch. It is displayed under the title and running time for each film.

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), before 1985 known as British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organization,

founded by the film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films within the United Kingdom.

It has a statutory requirement to classify videos, DVDs and, to a lesser extent, some video games under the Video Recordings Act

2010.

ADVERTISING STANDARDS AUTHORITY

The Advertising Standards Authority is the UK’s independent regulator of advertising across all media. We apply the Advertising Codes, which are

written by the Committees of Advertising Practice.

Our work includes acting on complaints and proactively checking the media to take action against misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements.

Pan European Game Information (PEGI) is a European video game content rating system established to help European consumers make informed decision

on buying computer games.

It was developed by the Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE) and came into use in April 2003; it replaced many national age rating systems with

a single European system.

PEGI is used and recognised throughout Europe and has the enthusiastic support of the European Commission. It is considered to be a model of

European harmonisation in the field of the protection of children.

On 30 July 2012, PEGI became the sole system for age classification of video games in the UK. As a result, games no longer have to be rated separately by

the BBFC.

The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) was a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazine, consisting of representative of

the major publishers.

The PCC was funded by the annual levy it charges newspapers and magazines. It has no legal powers – all newspapers and magazines

voluntarily contribute to the costs of, and adhere to the rulings of, the Commission, making the industry self-regulating

The PCC received extensive criticism for its lack of action in the News of the Owrls phone hacking affair, including from MPs and Prime Minister David

Cameron, who called for it to be replaced with a new system in July 2011.

The Press Complaints Commission closed on 8 September 2014 and has been replaced

INDEPENDENT PRESS STANDARDS ORG

IPSO is an independent regulator of the newspaper and magazine industry, and exists to promote and uphold the highest professional standards of journalism in the UK, and to support members of the public in seeking redress where they believe that the Editor’s Code of Practice has been breached.

The Editor’s code deals with issues such as accuracy, invasion of privacy, intrusion into grief or shock and harassment. IPSO is able to consider concerns about editorial content in newspapers and magazine, and about the conduct of journalists.

IPSO handles complaints, and conducts its own investigations into editorial standards and compliance. It also undertake monitoring work, including by requiring publications to submit annual compliance reports.

IPSO has the power, where necessary, to require the publication of prominent corrections and critical adjudications, and may ultimately fine publications in cases where failings are particularly serious and systemic.

OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS

Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom.

Ofcom has wide-ranging powers across the tv, radio, telecoms and postal sectors. It has a statutory duty to represent the interests of citizens and consumers by promoting competition and protecting the public from harmful or offensive material.

Some of the main areas Ofcom presides over are licensing, research, codes and policies, complaints, competition and protecting the radio spectrum from abuse.

The regulator was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002 and received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003.