6 ms·

Sure! https://www.classification.gov.au/classification-ratings/what-we-classify https://www.classification.gov.au/classification-ratings/wha... >Every film an

Sure! https://www.classification.gov.au/classification-ratings/what-we-classify https://www.classification.gov.au/classification-ratings/wha... >Every film and computer game has to be classified before it can be legally made available to the Australian public, unless it is exempt or is being shown at a registered event. If they refuse classification then it is banned.

Varqu 4y ago
It looks like Australia is close to China not only geographically but also by the censorship practices.
- catmanjan 4y ago
  It’s more that Australians don’t care about things that don’t actually mean anything, it’s accepted that the politburo will pass laws that are irrelevant and the general population ignores the ones that don’t matter This has worked so far because we don’t have extremist police who apply the law to the letter- they themselves see laws as mostly suggestions
- vosper 4y ago
  Except that, in practice, they are miles apart in what actually gets censored.
  - boffinAudio 4y ago
    Not really. You can't discuss Australian war crimes openly in the media - this will get you shut down quite rapidly. Something most people don't understand is that Australias' sovereign, the Queen, is used to keep embarassing state secrets well and truly out of the public eye. This is an intolerable state of affairs that will hopefully get addressed when she dies, and the Australian Republic movement gets fresh air under its wings .. Australia has secret prisons, and a star court for the things it doesn't want the world to know. Witness J, K, L, M, &etc.
    - fao_ 4y ago
      > Australia has secret prisons, and a star court for the things it doesn't want the world to know. Witness J, K, L, M, &etc. So does america. I'm not sure how a republic movement could save australia from having these things when one of the largest republics in the world also has, e.g. hundreds of thousands of censored warcrimes on wikileaks and guantanamo bay
      - boffinAudio 4y ago
        The US is a military junta masquerading as a republic. Presumably Australia's republic movement will address the issue of the corruption of the republic, eventually.
        AbrahamParangi 4y ago
        Pretty weird military junta that gives its opponents executive power every 4-8 years
        boffinAudio 4y ago
        .. puts its populist puppets in place, you mean. Just as it has done, with great success, in every sovereign country it has usurped in the last 50 years.
        ch4s3 4y ago
        Odd that many of our recent presidents were not in the military, and that top generals are regularly fired by civilian government. The whole vote on everything all the time, even dog catch, thing seems like a real waste of time for a Junta.
        boffinAudio 4y ago
        The Junta has a trillion dollars a year to do whatever evils it wishes to the world. I don't think any of the generals are going to be butt-hurt about being fired, especially when the revolving door between the CFR and the JCoS is so well-greased with the blood of innocent people across the globe. The goal isn't local power, that is a done deal - the purpose of the junta is the projection of global power. The proof is in the pudding: Yemen, Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, Somalia, Ukraine, etc.
iam-TJ 4y ago
The same has been the case in the UK for at least the last 20 years with games requiring BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) or VSC (Video Standards Council) [0] ratings. As of 27th July 2012 [1] UK enacted a Statutory Instrument "The Video Recordings (Labelling) Regulations 2012" [2] ... > From today, it is a criminal offence to sell video games with a “12” rating to those younger than that age. ... manadated VSC as the sole organisation... > The new law ends the dual system, gives legal backing to PEGI 12, 16 and 18 ratings and will result in clearer, unambiguous guidance about the suitability of games content for specific age groups. ... with responsibility for PEGI (Pan European Games Information)[3] ratings. > PEGI provides age classifications for video games in 38 European countries. The age rating confirms that the game is appropriate for players of certain age. PEGI considers the age suitability of a game, not the level of difficulty. [0] https://videostandards.org.uk/RatingBoard/about-history https://videostandards.org.uk/RatingBoard/about-history [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-rules-to-better-protect-children-from-inappropriate-video-game-content https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-rules-to-better-prote... [2] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/1767/contents/made https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/1767/contents/made [3] https://pegi.info/ https://pegi.info/
- OJFord 4y ago
  Is the outcome ever a refusal to classify them at all though? I think even when some films (e.g. Clockwork Orange at first I believe?) were banned they were still rated by the BBFC, it was councils that banned cinemas from showing them locally?
  - implements 4y ago
    The BBFC is a non-government organisation nevertheless required by the government to view and rate all films. Councils licence cinemas (originally for fire safety) and require cinemas to only show rated material to the public, but they also have a discretionary power to rate and therefore ban films themselves. As an example, Life of Brian (1979) was only an “AA” (14 years+) but a moral panic made 28 councils raise to an “X” (18+) and 11 actually banned it completely. (For clarity, a film is de facto banned when either the BBFC or a local council refuses to rate it. It can still be shown privately (eg at a film society) provided it doesn’t contain illegal material (ie it’s not obscene))
mgoetzke 4y ago
Same seems true here in Germany. I had to import Gears of War (1) from Austria because I wasn't allowed to buy it irrespective of Age.
- nani8ot 4y ago
  The same is true for Quake 3 Arena. They didn't meet the requirements for USK-18 (similar to pegi) at the time. But I don't think that's a thing anymore because there outdated policys have changed. Video games aren't "new" anymore for a long time.
- account42 4y ago
  AFAICT Gears of War was not banned but rather not allowed to be sold OR ADVERTISED to minors as is/was the case with most "violent" games. Only a few (e.g. the uncut version of Left 4 Dead) were ever banned from sale entirely. Of course the distinction is mostly theoretical as no store is willing to sell either games even with age verification.
- _ph_ 4y ago
  That's not quite true. You are allowed to buy games without an age rating in Germany, if you are over 18. However, the burden is onto the seller to verify your age and it might not be publicly listed. So many resellers are not bothering importing games under these conditions, but they would be allowed to.

Varqu 4y ago

It looks like Australia is close to China not only geographically but also by the censorship practices.

catmanjan 4y ago
It’s more that Australians don’t care about things that don’t actually mean anything, it’s accepted that the politburo will pass laws that are irrelevant and the general population ignores the ones that don’t matter This has worked so far because we don’t have extremist police who apply the law to the letter- they themselves see laws as mostly suggestions
vosper 4y ago
Except that, in practice, they are miles apart in what actually gets censored.
- boffinAudio 4y ago
  Not really. You can't discuss Australian war crimes openly in the media - this will get you shut down quite rapidly. Something most people don't understand is that Australias' sovereign, the Queen, is used to keep embarassing state secrets well and truly out of the public eye. This is an intolerable state of affairs that will hopefully get addressed when she dies, and the Australian Republic movement gets fresh air under its wings .. Australia has secret prisons, and a star court for the things it doesn't want the world to know. Witness J, K, L, M, &etc.
  - fao_ 4y ago
    > Australia has secret prisons, and a star court for the things it doesn't want the world to know. Witness J, K, L, M, &etc. So does america. I'm not sure how a republic movement could save australia from having these things when one of the largest republics in the world also has, e.g. hundreds of thousands of censored warcrimes on wikileaks and guantanamo bay
    - boffinAudio 4y ago
      The US is a military junta masquerading as a republic. Presumably Australia's republic movement will address the issue of the corruption of the republic, eventually.
      - AbrahamParangi 4y ago
        Pretty weird military junta that gives its opponents executive power every 4-8 years
        boffinAudio 4y ago
        .. puts its populist puppets in place, you mean. Just as it has done, with great success, in every sovereign country it has usurped in the last 50 years.
      - ch4s3 4y ago
        Odd that many of our recent presidents were not in the military, and that top generals are regularly fired by civilian government. The whole vote on everything all the time, even dog catch, thing seems like a real waste of time for a Junta.
        boffinAudio 4y ago
        The Junta has a trillion dollars a year to do whatever evils it wishes to the world. I don't think any of the generals are going to be butt-hurt about being fired, especially when the revolving door between the CFR and the JCoS is so well-greased with the blood of innocent people across the globe. The goal isn't local power, that is a done deal - the purpose of the junta is the projection of global power. The proof is in the pudding: Yemen, Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, Somalia, Ukraine, etc.

iam-TJ 4y ago

The same has been the case in the UK for at least the last 20 years with games requiring BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) or VSC (Video Standards Council) [0] ratings. As of 27th July 2012 [1] UK enacted a Statutory Instrument "The Video Recordings (Labelling) Regulations 2012" [2] ... > From today, it is a criminal offence to sell video games with a “12” rating to those younger than that age. ... manadated VSC as the sole organisation... > The new law ends the dual system, gives legal backing to PEGI 12, 16 and 18 ratings and will result in clearer, unambiguous guidance about the suitability of games content for specific age groups. ... with responsibility for PEGI (Pan European Games Information)[3] ratings. > PEGI provides age classifications for video games in 38 European countries. The age rating confirms that the game is appropriate for players of certain age. PEGI considers the age suitability of a game, not the level of difficulty. [0] https://videostandards.org.uk/RatingBoard/about-history https://videostandards.org.uk/RatingBoard/about-history [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-rules-to-better-protect-children-from-inappropriate-video-game-content https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-rules-to-better-prote... [2] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/1767/contents/made https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/1767/contents/made [3] https://pegi.info/ https://pegi.info/

OJFord 4y ago
Is the outcome ever a refusal to classify them at all though? I think even when some films (e.g. Clockwork Orange at first I believe?) were banned they were still rated by the BBFC, it was councils that banned cinemas from showing them locally?
- implements 4y ago
  The BBFC is a non-government organisation nevertheless required by the government to view and rate all films. Councils licence cinemas (originally for fire safety) and require cinemas to only show rated material to the public, but they also have a discretionary power to rate and therefore ban films themselves. As an example, Life of Brian (1979) was only an “AA” (14 years+) but a moral panic made 28 councils raise to an “X” (18+) and 11 actually banned it completely. (For clarity, a film is de facto banned when either the BBFC or a local council refuses to rate it. It can still be shown privately (eg at a film society) provided it doesn’t contain illegal material (ie it’s not obscene))

mgoetzke 4y ago

Same seems true here in Germany. I had to import Gears of War (1) from Austria because I wasn't allowed to buy it irrespective of Age.

nani8ot 4y ago
The same is true for Quake 3 Arena. They didn't meet the requirements for USK-18 (similar to pegi) at the time. But I don't think that's a thing anymore because there outdated policys have changed. Video games aren't "new" anymore for a long time.
account42 4y ago
AFAICT Gears of War was not banned but rather not allowed to be sold OR ADVERTISED to minors as is/was the case with most "violent" games. Only a few (e.g. the uncut version of Left 4 Dead) were ever banned from sale entirely. Of course the distinction is mostly theoretical as no store is willing to sell either games even with age verification.
_ph_ 4y ago
That's not quite true. You are allowed to buy games without an age rating in Germany, if you are over 18. However, the burden is onto the seller to verify your age and it might not be publicly listed. So many resellers are not bothering importing games under these conditions, but they would be allowed to.