http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9753&Itemid=59

By Colin Campbell

Dr Byron, a clinical psychologist, yesterday set out an action plan for the UK government, industry and families to work together to support children’s safety online and to reduce access to adult videogames.

Next-Gen:  You’ve been talking to the media and to the call-in shows today. What’s the reaction been like to the proposals you set out?

Dr. Tanya Byron:  I suppose the first response I got this morning was from the Prime Minister when he said to me, when we were on GMTV together, that he was going to accept my recommendations in full, followed by the Secretaries of State at the launch I did later. I understand there’s been a very positive debate in Parliament about the review.

A number of MPs have supported the recommendations and also the processes of the review and we’re getting calls in from industry which are in line with the kind of relationship I’ve had with both the videogames and internet industries which has been so incredibly positive throughout this review.

I think we can make things happen here in a pretty positive way for children and families in terms of digital safety.

Next-Gen: The review seems like a lot of common sense, which begs the question, why wasn’t this process put into place years ago?

Byron:  The debate around these issues has always been extremely polarized, full of anxiety. When we debate things when we are anxious, what happens is that people tend  to take very polarized positions and entrench themselves in their positions. We don’t actually move on with the conversation

What I’ve tried to do with the review is to actually engage stake-holders on an individual level and also work with groups of industry stake-holders. I’ve been to the States, I’ve talked to the big industry players out there, I’ve talked to parents, but most of all I’ve listened to children.

For me, the ability to place my recommendations in the context of the research evidence and child development literature means that this is a rational response to a very difficult debate.

But I think that people understand that the recommendations are grounded in evidence such as it is, and, you know, common sense. It’s about supporting and empowering families, teachers and adults who want to support children who enjoy videogaming and who enjoy the online space but in a way that enables them to benefit from the tremendous opportunities there while also remaining safe and being able to manage risks as and when they come up in a way that’s appropriate for their age and stage of development.

Next-Gen:  One of the fears for the games industry or for adult games players is that somehow your recommendations might stop people from playing adult games. Is there any way that this might come out as a result of what you’re recommending?

Byron: Absolutely not. That’s certainly not what I’m recommending. I’ve worked with a lot of gamers throughout the review and I do believe that adults have the right to make decisions about the content that they access, whether it’s viewing or interacting.

There’s a huge moral debate around content in videogames. I’m very clear, that wasn’t the remit of my review to pass judgment on that and I do believe that content for adults is content for adults. It should be rated that way.

I can understand that gamers fear that there will be a ‘you can’t play these games anymore.’ I’ve not said that, I’d never say that, and certainly if I heard people beginning to use my review to try and imply that I will be very quick to say that that was not and will not be a recommendation of mine.

Next-Gen: Violent, adult games have been badged as being adult games for some time now and will continue to be so, so the major change seems to be around the teenage area; where those games will now have age ratings on them. So in that respect, do you think much has really changed?

Byron: A lot has changed. First of all, I think this review has really put it in the public domain with the backing of the Prime Minister and the Secretaries of State. The media’s been saturated with the review today, generally in a really positive way. Already we’re hearing from parents. I’ve done a lot of phone in shows today in which parents are really valuing the fact that that government and industry are saying we want to support you to be able to say ‘no’ to your kids if you don’t feel comfortable with certain content.

Also that console manufacturers have their assistance in place to enable parents to lock off consoles and I’ve made recommendations around how the console manufactures can make that easier for parents.

And I think already we’re shifting the discussion on so we can actually see this is an industry that does want to ensure that the products that children access and play are appropriate for them.

Also just to say that although I’m recommending that the BBFC logos are on all games, that PEGI will still continue to rate with three plus and seven plus, that the BBFC will put U and PG for the UK market, but there will be PEGI ratings on the back of all games because there’s a lot of kids that have got PEGI rated games already so we need to continue to be familiar with that system, and PEGI is a good system that will work very well on a multi-national level when we look at the online gaming space, and so my recommendation is that the BBFC and PEGI continue to work together there as well.

Next-Gen: What’s happening with the retail business because they’re worried that they might get clobbered if they end up selling games to the wrong people. What’s your message to those guys?

Byron: Having worked with the retail industry throughout the review, what they’re very clear about is, actually, they want to be able to be clear at point of sale about selling games that have a classification.

I believe the retail industry needs to be supported. I hope the industry will support the retail sector in terms of in-store information and that we can work together to support each other because the fundamental outcome for me is delivery on what is right for children and young people in terms of what’s safe for them. No one’s disagreed with me on that, so what we’ve got to do is continue to work collaboratively and to support each other so no one sector has to bear the brunt of my recommendation.

Next-Gen: I don’t want this question to sound facetious, but what makes a game appropriate for a twelve year old as supposed to say a ten year old? Give me an example of something that would trigger that.

Byron: When I started I looked at the way the classification system changes [in movies] around twelve you begin to get more realistic violence, you begin to get sexual innuendo. For me it’s really about not just the age rating but the content description on the back of the game. If a parent sees a game they evaluate it against what they know about their child, that’s their choice.

Some ten year olds are more mature than twelve year olds and some twelve year olds are less mature than some ten year olds. For me it’s not about having a Nanny-State approach and saying this is exactly what you have to do, but it’s about providing enough information and support for industry, retail, and parents to make the right choice for the individual child that’s standing in the shop asking for the game.

Next-Gen: You’ve talked about how consumers need to be educated. I think some of the games industry people are going to be worried that they’re going to be picking up the tab. Do they have anything to worry about? Is this going to cost the publishers?

Byron:  Well that is something that needs to be figured out. I haven’t made specific recommendations around that and certainly when I was working with the industry, there did seem to be indications that they would be prepared to support an education initiative, certainly that’s a conversation that needs to continue with an industry in terms of how they want to take this forward.

I’m not specifically recommending who should pick up the tab because that’s not within my remit. Certainly the messages I’ve been giving to the public very clearly today is, this is a responsible industry and it's an industry that makes adult content for adult gamers. They do not want children to be accessing this content, they are very clear that they have a huge and they have a fantastic market of games for children. In order to continue the positive PR, if industry wants to get behind those messages in terms of an education campaign, I think that’s fantastic but it’s not for me to tell industry how to spend their money.

Next-Gen: What about the BBFC? They say they’re ready to take on the extra responsibility of rating these games, but rating games is a difficult, time consuming business and ELSPA’s expressed some doubts that they can get up to speed. What is your view?

Byron:  Well my view is, because I’ve recommended changes to primary legislation, that there will have to be a period of public consultation. We know that, that’s a given, and I think it’s important that when any changes are made to a system that there is public consultation and there’s time to really think about the issues involved, and that does include, obviously, how the BBFC will cope with the additional work that I have put their way.

Also for me it’s how we continue to preserve the good relationship between PEGI and BBFC and support PEGI in terms of their classifications not just in the UK but across Europe.

That public consultation period, I hope, will enable those conversations to happen in a strategic way so the industry feels confident that products can hit the shelves at the time they need them to do. I saw Paul Jackson today from ELSPA, we did some interviews at the same time, and he did raise those issues with me, but he also raised optimism that these could be thought about and I have had good conversations with industry, very open debates with industry. I think this is an industry that will talk about these issues and will think about these issues and I’m confident that they can be resolved in a way that works for everyone.

Next-Gen: Now a lot of content is going to be bought online over the next five or ten years, perhaps more so than retail. Do you think your recommendations about online use covers games being bought online as well in the future?

Byron:  Well, I mean the online space is a much more difficult space, isn’t it? As you know from my recommendations to the Prime Minister about the UK Child Internet Safety Council - I’m asking him to establish that, and that it’s chaired by home office and the department for children’s schools and families and reports to the PM every year, and the answer has been a big yes to all of that.

Around the table when strategy and policy are debated as well as the education priorities are also debated and operationalized, around that table will be the videogames industry when it comes to the online gaming space. These are new dialogues that are happening between these two industries. The dialogues have already started as part of my review. I had an interim conference in January where I put the industries together and the dialogues began in a very positive and encouraging way, and I do believe within the council where we can think about this carefully we can utilize the good work of PEGI at a multi-national level as well as what’s happening in the UK with the BBFC. I do believe that we can take the online gaming debate forward in way that will make a difference as well.

Next-Gen:  You said you went over to the United States recently. Do you think your ideas will be looked at carefully over there or is that just not relevant, what those guys are doing?

Byron:  It’s entirely relevant. The internet, the online space, and videogaming, it’s global. It’s about children living in global landscapes now, you know? This is what the online landscape gives children. It’s amazing, it’s a fantastic opportunity for children to grow, for communities to develop in a way that’s positive.

I do know for a fact that the US are looking at this report very carefully. I’ve had some very encouraging signs already from the US in terms of their response to this report and I hope that in the UK we can show that we can offer a model of really good practice here in the UK which can be rolled out globally so that we can think more strategically globally in terms of children, young people, and digital safety.