British Board of Film Classification (Accountability to Parliament and Appeals) Bill
Brooks Newmark highlights the limitations of the Bill as far more information is available on the internet than in films and DVDs.
Mr. Brooks Newmark (Braintree) (Con): I have been listening with interest to my hon. Friend. I come at the issue with the perspective of someone who has multiple children, who seem to have access to all sorts of information. I am curious to know whether the Bill deals with access to material on multiple platforms. Violence is not disseminated solely through videos and DVDs, as there are now hand-held devices through which various messages are delivered. Will the Bill deal with those platforms as well?
Mr. Brazier: The short answer to my hon. Friend's question is that it deals with some, but not others. As I said at the outset, a private Member's Bill can do only so much. Whole areas of the media, such as the internet, are completely unregulated except with regard to child pornography. I am trying to set boundaries for the BBFC, which is what we already have, but I have already made it clear that that can be only a beginning. As we shift progressively away from straightforward videos and DVDs towards the wider world that he mentioned, any measures will have to be broadened.
...
Mr. Newmark: I thank the right hon. Gentleman for giving way, as this is a big issue. I appreciate the motives of my hon. Friend the Member for Canterbury (Mr. Brazier) in introducing the Bill, but he has himself accepted that the largest platform out there is the internet. The people generating that business are not based in Hammersmith or anywhere else in London; it is an underground business. Surely the House would be far better spending its time trying to legislate to control the internet and the messages it sends.
I have another question for the right hon. Gentleman. If we are to teach our children about these issues, would not that message best come from the family? Families should be trying to deal with morality of that sort. It is hard to deal with a tiny fraction of the market by controlling DVDs and videos, as the Bill proposes.
Keith Vaz: The hon. Gentleman is right on both points. We in the House cannot control the internet, but that is no excuse for not taking the first step in controlling video games. I will come on to his multiple children later, when I discuss the effect of these issues on our children and the fact that parents need to be responsible. I shall cite a number of cases as examples. Let us be clear: we are not against the industry and we are not against having it based in London, contributing to our economy, but it has to show responsibility. We come to the table to help it.
