Published by the Department of Education in London.
3977564Letting Children be Children — Theme 12011Reg Bailey
THEME 1
The 'Wallpaper' of Children’s Lives
"I feel that today’s society encourages children to grow up too quickly we do not allow them to be children.
The media, technology, celebrities advertising all contribute towards this."
Parent, Call for Evidence response
Overview
We are all living in an increasingly sexual and sexualised culture, although it is far from clear how we arrived at this point.
Many parents feel that this culture is often inappropriate for their children and they want more power to say 'no'.
Some parts of the business world and sections of the media seem to have lost their connection to parents and this is compounded in some new media where there is limited regulation.
Where regulation does exist, regulators need to connect better with parents and encourage businesses to comply with the 'spirit of the regulation'. Where regulation does not exist, businesses need to behave more responsibly.
WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE
That sexualised images used in public places and on television, the internet, music videos, magazines, newspapers and other places are more in line with what parents find acceptable, and that the public space becomes more family friendly.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1.
Ensuring that magazines and newspapers with sexualised images on their covers are not in easy sight of children. Retail associations in the news industry should do more to encourage observance of the voluntary code of practice on the display of magazines and newspapers with sexualised images on their covers. Publishers and distributors should provide such magazines in modesty sleeves, or make modesty boards available, to all outlets they supply and strongly encourage the appropriate display of their publications. Retailers should be open and transparent to show that they welcome and will act on customer feedback regarding magazine displays. ACTION: Publishers, distributors, retailers and retail associations in the news industry, including the National Federation of Retail Newsagents and the Association of News Retailing
2.
Reducing the amount of on-street advertising containing sexualised imagery in locations where children are likely to see it. The advertising industry should take into account the social responsibility clause of the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) code when considering placement of advertisements with sexualised imagery near schools, in the same way as they already do for alcohol advertisements. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) should place stronger emphasis on the location of an advertisement, and the number of children likely to be exposed to it, when considering whether an on—street advertisement is compliant with the CAP code. The testing of standards that the ASA undertakes with parents (see Recommendation 7) should also cover parental views on location of advertising in public spaces. ACTION:Advertisers, advertising industry bodies, and the ASA
3.
Ensuring the content of pre-watershed television programming better meets parents’ expectations. There are concerns among parents about the content of certain programmes shown before the watershed. The watershed was introduced to protect children, and pre-watershed programming should therefore be developed and regulated with a greater weight towards the attitudes and views of parents, rather than 'viewers' as a whole. In addition, broadcasters should involve parents on an ongoing basis in testing the standards by which family viewing on television is assessed and the Office of Communications (Ofcom) should extend its existing research into the views of parents on the watershed. Broadcasters and Ofcom should report annually on how they have specifically engaged parents over the previous year, what they have learnt and what they are doing differently as a result. ACTION: Ofcom, broadcasters
4.
Introducing Age Rating for Music Videos. Government should consult as a matter of priority on whether music videos should continue to be treated differently from other genres, and whether the exemption from the Video Recordings Act 1984 and 2010, which allows them to be sold without a rating or certificate, should be removed.As well as ensuring hard copy sales are only made on an age—appropriate basis, removal of the exemption would assist broadcasters and internet companies in ensuring that the content is made available responsibly. ACTION: Government
5.
Making it easier for parents to block adult and age-restricted material from the internet. To provide a consistent level of protection across all media, as a matter of urgency, the internet industry should ensure that customers must make an active choice over what sort of content they want to allow their children to access. To facilitate this, the internet industry must act decisively to develop and introduce effective parental controls, with Government regulation if voluntary action is not forthcoming within a reasonable timescale. In addition, those providing content which is age-restricted, whether by law or company policy, should seek robust means of age verification as well as making it easy for parents to block underage access. ACTION: Internet industry and providers of age-restricted content, through the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCC/S)
Introduction
1.
Sexualised imagery is now a mainstream part of children's lives, forming the 'wallpaper' or backdrop to their everyday activities whether in public places through billboards and shop windows, or in the home through television and other media (National Federation of Retail Newsagents, 2011; Scottish Parliament, February 2011).
2.
There is evidence that our society is becoming more sexualised (Attwood, 2009; Nikunen et al, 2007) and the increasing number of media channels through which we receive these messages mean that we are under ever—increasing exposure to sexualised content and imagery. Sadly, some parent contributors even felt that there is 'no escape' and, for children, no 'clear space' where they can simply be themselves. And the nature of this imagery is becoming increasingly explicit (Attwood, 2009) — commentators have referred to the 'pornification' of society — with the blurring of boundaries between pornography and the mainstream (Nikunen et al, 2007).
3.
These images are being used not only in the editorial content of television programmes,
music videos, websites, magazines and newspapers, but also by the commercial world
through advertising and marketing.
"I think that it's crept up on us gradually and this makes it difficult to take a stand against it."
Unfortunately, we have all become so used to the ubiquity of these images and messages that we no longer always register them consciously. This is Worrying."
Parents, Call for Evidence response
4.
We have heard a particular concern that the television programmes that people have traditionally watched as family gradually and this makes it difficult to viewing, such as talent shows and soaps, are starting to push the boundaries of acceptability by including increasingly sexualised content.
5.
Some contributors to the Review are of the opinion that the 'genie is out of the bottle' and that this is simply 'how things are'. Individual parents feel particularly powerless as lone voices — and this is a good reason why those with the power to change things should start to do so.
6.
Finally, serious concerns have been voiced to the Review about the ease of access to age—restricted and adult—only material on the internet and through video—on—demand and via mobile phones, and the inconsistent, and in some cases non—existent, controls on accessing such material by children and young people.
Volume and nature of sexualised images — magazine displays
7.
There is a widespread and specific concern, expressed both through our parental Call for Evidence and through the public campaigns in this area, about the display of magazines and tabloid newspapers with sexualised front covers or front pages on shelves where young children can see them.Although the content of such 'lads’ mags' an dnewspapers is not pornography in the accepted sense (that is, not strong enough to be considered as 'top shelf' magazines), they trade on their sexualised content and many parents think retailers should treat them in the same way as they treat pornography.
"Parents can control lots of things in the home. But when you are outside the home it's tricky... magazine covers are really difficult."
"I think inappropriate sexualised images on the front cover of magazines such as ['lads’mags'] are the worst. These are not classed as top shelf magazines and so are on shelving where children are able to view them easily."
Parents, Call for Evidence response
8.
There is a voluntary code of practice for newsagents, developed by the National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN), approved by the Professional Publishers Association and endorsed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Home Office, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and the Association News Retailers through the Association of Convenience Stores. This voluntary code advises retailers to be sensitive to consumer concerns, to display these magazines above children's eye level and away from children's comics (National Federation of Retail Newsagents, 2011).Where space restraints mean that this advice cannot be followed, newsagents are advised to partially cover the titles in question.We note that larger retailers now often put boards with the magazine logo or branding in front of each of the magazine titles on display (known as 'modesty boards') so that the front covers of these magazines are hidden but customers are aware that the magazines are in stock.
9.
The NFRN has made clear to the Review that while the major retailers may find this code of practice relatively easy to follow, smaller businesses may not. Nor do they think it likely there will be full compliance across thousands of sites (the NFRN alone represents 16,000 retailers).This view is supported to an extent by research carried out for the Scottish Parliament earlier this year (Scottish Parliament, 2011). However, businesses which are often in the heart of communities and widely used by families for small purchases need to be conscious of their relationship to all their customers, not just the purchasers of the magazines. The NFRN code of practice makes clear that:
"Making your customers aware that you adopt a ‘family—friendly’ policy on display, you may find that parents with children are much happier to shop in your store."
National Federation of Retail Newsagents, 2011
10.
Following a campaign led by Mumsnet (Mumsnet (1)), a number of major retailers including supermarkets and petrol stations have agreed to take measures to ensure that 'lads' mags' are displayed out of the view of children.This is a very welcome development, but should be adopted across the whole of the news retail industry.
RECOMMENDATION
1.
Ensuring that magazines and newspapers with sexualised images on their covers are not in easy sight of children. Retail associations in the news industry should do more to encourage observance of the voluntary code of practice on the display of magazines and newspapers with sexualised images on their covers. Publishers and distributors should provide such magazines in modesty sleeves, or make modesty boards available, to all outlets they supply and strongly encourage the appropriate display of their publications. Retailers should be open and transparent to show that they welcome and will act on customer feedback regarding magazine displays.ACTION: Publishers, distributors, retailers and retail associations in the news industry, including the National Federation of Retail Newsagents and the Association of News Retailing
Volume and nature of sexualised images — in advertising
11.
In our Call for Evidence from parents we asked whether, when they had been out and about with their children in the last few weeks, they had seen any images aimed at adults that they thought were inappropriate for their children to see. A majority (576) of the 846 respondents who answered this question said they had.These parents who had seen things they thought were inappropriate were then asked to give details of what they had seen, and of those:
134 mentioned shop displays with the majority concerned about the display of 'lads' mags' in newsagents, supermarkets and petrol stations.
113 respondents were unhappy with on—street advertising such as billboards and posters in bus shelters.
63 respondents specifically mentioned the sexual imagery in advertisements for perfume and lingerie.
12.
Similarly, 40 per cent of parents in the omnibus survey for the Review said they had seen things in public places (e.g. shop window displays, advertising hoardings) that they felt were unsuitable or inappropriate for children to see because of their sexual content in the three months since November 2010 (this included images other than in advertisements).
13.
These figures show that a significant minority of parents feel negative effects from some images displayed, including advertising, in the public space. Unlike advertisements on television or radio, there is no option to 'switch off' on—street advertisements — there is no choice but to be exposed to them on, for example, billboards, bus shelters and public transport.
14.
Advertisements for perfumes on posters and in magazines, mentioned by a few parents in our Call for Evidence, were also singled out by parenting, education, women's and children and young people's organisations. These contributors expressed a perception that the men and women in these advertisements are often portrayed in highly sexualised ways and shown in stereotyped gender roles. It was felt that this put particular pressure on children and young people — both girls and boys — to conform both to certain body shapes and 'looks', and to particular gender roles.
15.
Parents in our qualitative research (Define, 2011), when shown copies of posters used in advertising campaigns for clothing, made a distinction between images where the posing of the models glamourised or portrayed sexual availability and those where a clear message about the garment (for example, its quality and cost) was used. The former were more objectionable than the latter, even if the latter used models that were less covered—up by the clothes.
"Advertising for perfumes is almost always of a sexual nature."
"Perfume adverts are particularly inappropriate as they often include semi—naked women or couples."
Parents, Call for Evidence response
16.
Advertising is regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), through the application of the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) codes. This regulatory system appears to be working well in general, but we consider that an element of added caution is warranted in the consideration of content and placement of advertising in public places. A significant minority of parents told us they were affected by on—street advertising, and the fact that members of the public, including children, cannot control their exposure to such advertisements does, we believe, place an element of added responsibility on advertisers.
17.
Contributors to the Review drew our attention to the tighter, albeit voluntary, restrictions
on the locating of alcohol advertising close to schools. The voluntary code of practice for members of the Outdoor Media Centre, the trade body for outdoor media owners, states that:
"In the interests of responsible advertising to protect minors from undue exposure to alcohol advertising, Outdoor Media Centre members shall commit to not displaying alcohol advertising on static panels located within a 700 metre radius of school gates."
Outdoor Media Centre, 2011
18.
These restrictions, voluntarily adopted by the industry, are an encouraging example of responsible marketing practice, and we believe that similar measures should be adopted with respect to advertisements containing sexualised imagery. The ASA already takes location into account as part of the overall context when considering the compliance of advertisements to the CAP code, but we believe that stronger emphasis should be placed on location. In addition, parental views on the location of advertising in public spaces should also be sought (see more on the seeking of parental views in Theme 3).
RECOMMENDATION
2.
Reducing the amount of on-street advertising containing sexualised imagery in locations where children are likely to see it. The advertising industry should take into account the social responsibility clause of the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) code when considering placement of advertisements with sexualised imagery near schools, in the same way as they already do for alcohol advertisements. The
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) should place stronger emphasis on the location of an advertisement, and the number of children likely to be exposed to it, when considering whether an on-street advertisement is compliant with the CAP code. The testing of standards that the ASA undertakes with parents (see Recommendation 7) should also cover parental views on location of advertising in public spaces. ACTION: Advertisers, advertising industry bodies, and the ASA
Volume and nature of sexualised content — on television
19.
As noted at the beginning of this chapter, sexualised culture is now mainstream in children's lives, and there is evidence that sexualised imagery and content have become more explicit in its nature, with a perception that its volume is expanding due to the increasing number of media channels available to adults and children.
20.
Parents contributing to the Review objected to behaviour that diminishes their own ability to manage these pressures, typically by putting the parent in a position of having to deal with something at a time or place they did not choose or by being excluded altogether.
21.
A primary concern was the issue of sexual material in family viewing programmes on television, for example in talent shows and soaps. Numerous examples were submitted of pre-watershed, and cross—watershed programmes where parents felt that programme makers were pushing the boundaries unnecessarily. In the omnibus survey for this Review, 41 per cent of parents said that during the last three months they had seen programmes or advertisements on television before 9pm that they felt were unsuitable or inappropriate for children to see because of sexual content. This was echoed by parents in our Call for Evidence.
"It is unfortunate that the lazy, uninventive 'sex sells' attitude of the media which plasters sexual images and articles everywhere, causes parents to have to address the topic with their children a lot sooner than many would like, before they are at an age where they are emotionally equipped to understand it."
Parent, Call for Evidence response
"There is too much sexual (and violent) content before the watershed, particularly in soaps... The other problem is often programmes are repeated on digital channels at different hours of the day.
I find that many of the TV programmes e. g. [evening soap opera] are inappropriate for the time of day they are shown (even the advertisements for
many of the programmes are inappropriate)."
Parent, Call for Evidence response
22.
Parents focused particularly on the storylines of soaps and the sexualised content and imagery of reality and talent shows.A particular issue was highlighted around music performances in entertainment and talent shows during family viewing hours. There was a perception that such performances were heavily influenced by the sexualised and gender-stereotyped content of music videos, and that they were more ‘raunchy’ than was appropriate for that type of viewing.
23.
We believe that there is a strong sense that broadcasters are at times actively working against parents, and some parents have expressed a good degree of disappointment that the traditionally trusted control of the television 'watershed' appears to be less strictly
observed than in the past. Some parents even questioned whether the watershed still exists.
"The 9pm watershed does not seem to exist anymore. Either that or things that are now deemed acceptable viewing content for children are not what I consider to be appropriate."
"What happened to the TV watershed? Does it exist anymore? If so does it apply to all TV channels?"
Parent, Call for Evidence response
24.
Broadcasters argue that the watershed is still an effective control and well understood by parents:
"We believe television generally is trusted by parents. Conventions such as the watershed make clear what sort of programming is available at what time."
"The television watershed is an industry standard and is well known and understood by the audience... In all but exceptional circumstances, programmes before 9pm are suitable for general audiences including children."
Broadcasters, Call for Evidence response
25.
The Office of Communications (Ofcom), the broadcast regulator, conducts regular research in this area, including its Media Literacy Audit, research on attitudes towards sexual material on television (Opinion Leader, 2009) and its Media Tracker, which monitors the general public’s attitudes to television content and the watershed.This data shows good levels of awareness of the watershed amongst respondents with children in the household (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Audience awareness of the television watershed
93 per cent of respondents are aware of the watershed.
74 per cent of respondents think the time of the watershed is about right (up from 72 per cent last year).
The proportion of people who think the watershed should be earlier has remained steady over the last decade at 9 per cent.
72 per cent think the overall level of regulation for television programmes is about right.
Source: Ofcom, 2010
26.
However, the fact that some parents report otherwise should cause broadcasters concern. BBC audience research (BBC, 2009) shows that the views of the general audience (not just parents) are often offended by programming too (Figure 3).
Figure 3: BBC audience views on taste and standards
46 per cent of the viewing audience surveyed thought that morality, values or standards of behaviour in TV programmes have been getting worse in recent years.
Issues of top concern were strong language, violence and sexual content on TV.
50 per cent said they 'personally see or hear things on television which you find offensive'.
40 per cent of the audience reported they had seen or heard something on TV in the last 12 months that they felt should not have been broadcast.
Source: BBC, 2009
27.
What is more, the broadcasters we spoke to accept that, to a certain extent, the watershed really only serves to protect younger children, typically those of primary school age, and that once children are old enough to be able to choose the programmes they watch, then they are also mature enough to enjoy stronger content in the later part of the pre—watershed period and just after it:
"There are variations in how the watershed is used to regulate children's television viewing. The watershed plays a crucial role for parents with children aged 5-8, and the trust in pre-watershed programming, particularly that leading up to 7. 30pm, forms an essential part of parents' regulation and control of children's viewing. However, by the time children reach their teens, parents believe that 'they know it already' and that it is no longer appropriate to protect them too much. While violence was the type of content identified by viewers as the type of content which caused most concern, they were most likely to nominate programmes with sex and swearing as those they did not want their children to watch."
Broadcaster, Call for Evidence response
28.
The broadcasters contributing to the Review also reported that parents often welcome the opportunities to talk to their children that arise from the storylines in popular dramas: they can discuss the difficult social or moral issues raised by the plots and characterisations with their children but without having to make the discussion personal. There was also a view that the audience 'understood' that if a programme was broadcast on a particular channel, or had a certain kind of presenter or guests, they would expect a certain 'edginess' and would be prepared accordingly. Broadcasters also shared the view that, since they do not want viewers to change channel or switch off their television if they see something they do not like, there is no incentive to produce offensive material.
29.
Clearly television cannot be indifferent to popular culture or turn its back on pop music, comedy or other popular entertainments. Nor are we suggesting that pre—watershed dramas should not deal with difficult issues. Yet it appears to be the case that many parents are concerned about the content of certain programmes shown before the watershed and that pre—watershed programming can be unexpectedly difficult for parents. We believe that parents do not accept, for example, that if a variety show features a pop musician with a reputation for delivering highly sexualised performances that the broadcaster has licence to sail as close to the edge of compliance with the Broadcasting Code as possible. It appears from a recent ruling that Ofcom agrees with this: in response to over 2,800 complaints from viewers about the live performances of Rihanna and Christina Aguilera on the X Factor final show of 11 December 2010, Ofcom found that while the content of the programme did not breach the Broadcasting Code:
"Ofcom will shortly be issuing new guidance about the acceptability of material in pre—watershed programmes that attract large family viewing audiences. We will also be requesting that broadcasters who transmit such programming attend a meeting at Ofcom to discuss the compliance of such material."
Ofcom, 2011(1)
30.
We think that this is a helpful decision. It is clear that all broadcasters want, for a variety of reasons, to show programmes that have a mass appeal. Often, generating that appeal means developing programmes which whole families can watch together. With that desire to build a mass audience comes a responsibility to those who commission, make, broadcast and regulate television to ensure that their concept of what constitutes family viewing aligns closely with the values and concerns of the families watching. However, it appears that the broadcasting industry needs to do more to connect with families whose attention they want to hold. Further, we do not believe they should simply rely on audiences 'voting with their remote controls' to determine what audiences would find acceptable: the onus is on broadcasters to show acceptable content in the first place, not to react to audience complaints after the event.
31.
We fully respect the editorial independence of broadcasters. We also know and welcome the fact that they undertake research with their audiences, including parents, some more formally than others, but would like to see this becoming a regular and routine activity across the whole industry. The industry needs to act on that research and other feedback from parents, and in the case of pre—watershed family viewing, take a slightly more cautious approach than is currently the case. Building the confidence of parents will mean broadcasters not only listening to their concerns but being seen to have listened and to have acted on what they heard. Connecting with parents and earning their trust will mean broadcasters not only complying with the letter of the Broadcasting Code, but also working proactively within its spirit.
RECOMMENDATION
3.
Ensuring the content of pre-watershed television programming better meets parents' expectations. There are concerns among parents about the content of certain programmes shown before the watershed. The watershed was introduced to protect children, and pre-watershed programming should therefore be developed and regulated with a greater weight towards the attitudes and views of parents, rather than 'viewers' as a whole. In addition, broadcasters should involve parents on an ongoing basis in testing the standards by which family viewing on linear television is assessed and the Office of Communications (Ofcom) should extend its existing research into the views of parents on the watershed. Broadcasters and Ofcom should report annually on how they have specifically engaged parents over the previous year, what they have learnt and what they are doing differently as a result. ACTION: Ofcom, broadcasters
Sexualised content of music videos and music performances
32.
Music videos were singled out by contributors to the Review for strong criticism, an issue that was also highlighted previously in the Papadopoulos report (Papadopoulos, 2010). Concerns focused on the sexual and violent nature of song lyrics; highly sexualised, verging on explicit, dance routines; and the stereotyped gender roles portrayed. Music videos were highlighted by some parents of boys who responded to our Call for Evidence: they expressed concern that these videos were influencing their sons’ behaviour towards and perceptions of women and girls in a negative way.
"Whenever I have seen music videos lately I have been completely disheartened by the relentless portrayal of women as sex objects. More often than not they show young women in hardly any clothes basically simulating sex. .. For a lot of acts that are popular with young people, the music video has become a way of pushing boundaries to see how much they can get away with."
"Pop videos can be particularly difficult when children like the music, but the accompanying video is far too sexual."
Parents, Call for Evidence response
With music videos... I have a battle on my hands with raising my son when it comes to respecting women and not to see them as sexual objects. He seems obsessed with how they look as opposed to their talents or abilities and this causes me concern."
Parents, Call for Evidence response
"A disturbing thing for me is my daughter — she sees stuff on telly and thinks she has to look like that! It's the music videos for her... they're half naked — do they really need to do that to sell a song?
The music videos that children can watch are extremely explicit — from the clothes they wear to the words and actions. Some songs my 13 year old sings back are shocking.
Lots of songs contain inappropriate words and lots of sexual innuendo. My little girl loves listening to music and will copy the songs and moves without really understanding... with her friends she will often do shows for us and although usually sweet and funny, they sometimes worry me because they will be doing 'sexy dancing' and I have to try and explain why I don't think it's OK.
Parents, Review qualitative research
33.
Music videos are currently exempt from classification under the Video Recordings Act 1984 and 2010 (VRA) which means that, unlike films, there is no restriction on children purchasing any but the most explicit of music videos. There are also no restrictions on children downloading music videos of any nature.As the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) explains:
"Under the [Video Recordings Act 7984 and 2070] certain video works are exempt from classification because back in 1984 they were considered to be unlikely to be harmful. These are video works concerned with sport, religion or music, or designed to inform, educate or instruct. The content of these exempt works has changed beyond recognition since 1984. This has meant that inappropriate and potentially harmful content in such works, including sexual content, is exempt from statutory classification, allowing it to be legally supplied to children [In our research (Goldstone 8- Slesenger, 20 70) 700 per cent of adults surveyed felt that potentially harmful content in videos, including music videos, which are presently exempt from classification, ought to be classified, and the classification decision enforced. Content freely availably to children and shown to respondents included topless lap dancing; strip tease routines; other sexualised breast nudity; and sexualised violence."
BBFC, Call for Evidence response
34.
Although the VRA only applies to video works sold in hard copy, our view is that rating music videos in hard copy will have a beneficial knock—on effect to all methods of distributing music videos. We believe that once music videos are age rated in hard copy, media providers will be able to use that rating, in addition to the existing Broadcasting Code, to decide how and when to broadcast music videos or carry them on a website.
35.
It will also enable companies who display age guidance warnings and advice to reflect age—appropriateness of music videos in a way they cannot currently do. In addition, such age rating information may also help to ensure that parental controls on televisions, computers, phones and other devices start to filter music videos more effectively than at present.
RECOMMENDATION
4.
Introducing Age Rating for Music Videos. Government should consult as a matter of priority on whether music videos should continue to be treated differently from other genres, and whether the exemption from the Video Recordings Act 1984 and 2010, which allows them to be sold without a rating or certificate, should be removed.As well as ensuring hard copy sales are only made on an age—appropriate basis, removal of the exemption would assist broadcasters and internet companies in ensuring that the content is made available responsibly. ACTION: Government
User-generated content on the internet
35.
Generating their own content is one way that children and young people express themselves online. For example, Ofcom’s 2011 UK Children's Media Literacy report (Ofcom, 2011(2)) showed that 80 per cent of the 12-15 year olds surveyed have set up a profile on a social networking site, and 61 per cent have uploaded photos to a website. However, others have expressed concern that user—generated content such as video clips can be uploaded to a video—sharing website by anyone and viewed by anyone (for example NSPCC, 2011).And some children are clearly unaware of the possible consequences of what they are doing when they create and upload their own content, and of the need to take privacy and issues of reputation seriously.
36.
Whilst underage and inappropriate use of these services is against the terms and conditions of most sites, the sheer volume of content uploaded each day, and the fact that it is 'owned' by the user, means that many organisations are either reluctant to commit to removing it or do not have the resources to do so. Compared with text, it is much harder to filter video and audio automatically and this presents additional difficulties.
37.
Prominent internet companies are working towards better self—regulation in this area as part of the work of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) and we hope that commitment to make serious change will soon be forthcoming. We understand that discussions at European level this summer will determine the direction that this work will take and we await developments with interest.
38.
In addition, we believe that the role of education for children and young people around this issue is crucial. Schools, parenting organisations and some private sector organisations are already active here — both individually and collectively through UKCCIS — and there are some excellent programmes by, for example, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre and Childnet, which teach children to think carefully about what they say and do online and to use a provider's privacy settings.We would like to see more support and advice for children in this area.
Access by children to age-restricted and adult material — through the internet and video-on-demand services
39.
Serious concerns have been raised with us about what is seen as the ease of access to age-restricted and adult material on the internet and through video—on—demand services, some of which allow unchallenged free access to pornography. This is in line with Professor Tanya Byron's 2010 report which found that parents' "top digital concern is easy access to pornography and inappropriate adult content" (Byron, 2010).
40.
The Review noted that there is some (but not nearly enough) good practice in place. For example, some television—on—demand sites age rate their content and offer a facility to block access to adult programmes.
Video-on-demand (VOD) is a system which allows users to select and watch programmes at any time the viewer wants through televisions, personal computers and internet—enabled devices. Depending on the VOD service they access, viewers can watch previously broadcast television programmes, films, or video works of any kind.
35
"The internet and on-demand TV is my main concern, with children watching in their bedrooms. What is needed is a default setting for
pornography, so that parents cannot leave it accessible by mistake."
"I think it's far too easy to become exposed to unsuitable material on the internet."
"My biggest concern is the internet which is also invading young people's mobile phones."
Parents, Call for Evidence response
41.
We believe that parents are aware of the need to mediate their children's usage of the internet, but they continue to be concerned that their children are particularly vulnerable when online (Figures 4 and 5).
Figure 4: Parental supervision of children's internet use
One in eight internet users aged 5-7 (12 per cent) mostly use the internet on their own, rising to three in ten aged 8-11 (29 per cent) and over half of those aged 12-15 (56 per cent).
Nearly one quarter (23 per cent) of 12-155 say they go online via a mobile phone. However, only one in five (21 per cent) of parents of 12-155 with such phones say that access to over-18 online material has been restricted.
Just 37 per cent of parents of children who use the internet at home have any controls set or any software loaded to stop their child viewing certain types of website; 30 per cent say they use safe search settings.
The majority of parents of children aged 5-15 (78 per cent) have rules in place about their child's internet use. Half of all parents of an 8-11 year old child (52 per cent) regularly check what their child is doing, but only 36 per cent of parents of a 5-7 year old and 34 per cent of parents of 12-15s.
Around one in four parents of 5-155 (26 per cent) are concerned about the content of the websites their child visits.
23 per cent of parents think it likely that their child will experience something that bothers them online in the next six months.
Source: Ofcom, 2011(2)
Figure 5: Children encountering sexual images online
22 per cent of girls and 26 per cent of boys aged 9 – 16 report having encountered sexual images online or offline in the past 12 months.
8 per cent of 11 – 16 year olds report that they have seen online sexual images including nudity.
6 per cent have seen images of someone having sex.
6 per cent have seen someone's genitals online.
2 per cent say they have seen violent sexual images.
Among children who have seen online sexual images, 41 per cent of parents say their child has not seen such images, while 30 per cent recognise they have and 29 per cent say they don't know.
Source: Livingstone, Haddon, Görzig and Ólafsson, 2010
42.
Parents are, with schools, a key source of information on digital safety (Ofcom 2011(2)). The UKCCIS Click Clever, Click Safe code (Directgov (1)) was set up to be an effective and popular way for both parents and children to remember a set of simple online behaviours
– "Zip It, Block It, Flag It'" – to help avoid common risks online. It is to be hoped that funding will continue to be found to support and promote this excellent initiative.
43.
Opinions are divided about the robustness of existing academic evidence that exposure of children to pornography directly causes harm, although Papadopoulos is strongly of the view that it is detrimental to young people's development (Papadopoulos, 2010; see also Flood, 2009). However, many contributors to the Review, including child protection organisations, schools, local authorities, child psychologists, youth workers, agony aunts, women's organisations and internet safety organisations amongst others, provided compelling examples to illustrate their concern that pornography has a negative impact on children and young people. For example, children became convinced that they had to behave and look like the on—screen participants in order to have 'proper' sex; which generally meant sex without any basis in love or display of affection or equality; and to conform physically to some very narrow gender stereotypes. And since research does show that people convicted of serious crimes of violence and sexual violence often have a history of using pornography (Papadopoulos, 2010), many respondents advocate a common sense approach to accept the potential for real harm to be caused to children by the ready access to such material. We accept this as a persuasive argument for strong measures to be taken.
44.
Parental controls that might restrict children's access to adult content already exist on many internet—enabled devices. But whilst many provide a reasonable level of protection, they cannot be completely effective and in many instances can be bypassed relatively easily. However, industry experts we spoke to during this Review told us they believe parental controls are an effective way to prevent accidental access to harmful content and consider that the better products on the market can withstand reasonable attempts at disabling them.
45.
Following concerns that there was variation in the quality of parental controls, the BSI PAS74 Kitemark scheme was set up to identify those products that performed to the required safety standard. Despite endorsement by Professor Tanya Byron of this initiative (Byron, 2008), to date there is only one product that has achieved accreditation: we would like to see greater adoption of this scheme by industry.
46.
We see filters as a hugely important tool and we would like to see manufacturers, retailers, internet service providers (ISPs) and others adopt an approach that is much more supportive of parents. Industry already does much to help educate parents about parental controls, age—restriction and content filters. Such initiatives are extremely worthwhile, and should continue. However, it is not acceptable to expect parents to be solely responsible for what their children see online, and industry must take greater responsibility for controlling access to adult material online in the same way as they do when providing this sort of content through other channels, such as cinema, television, DVDs or adult magazines. We believe that there is no logical reason for not bringing internet—enabled devices into line with other platforms in order to protect children from inappropriate material.
47.
There has been much discussion about whether or not filters should be activated by default, with users only being able to access adult material if they take the trouble to remove the filters. We note, however, that Professor Tanya Byron concluded that this "could lull some parents into a false sense of security...[as they would] need do nothing more to help their children go online safely" (Byron, 2008). But we are also aware that Professor Byron recommended that the Government should consider a requirement for content filters on new home computers to be switched on by default if other approaches were failing to have an impact on the number and frequency of children coming across harmful or inappropriate content.
48.
We believe that it is now time for a new approach. Specifically, we would like to see industry agreeing across the board that when a new device or service is purchased or contract entered into, customers would be asked to make an active choice about whether filters should be switched off or on: they would be given the opportunity to choose to activate the solution immediately, whether it be network—level filtering by an ISP or pre—installed software on a new laptop.We believe that this will substantially increase the take—up and awareness of these tools and, consequently, reduce the amount of online adult material accessed by children.
49.
However, given that filters are not completely effective, we would still want parents to be actively responsible for the safety of their children and take an ongoing interest in their use of the internet.
50.
Age verification online is an allied issue. We know that current online age-verification methods offer scant control or protection.The fact that we do not have a national identity system in the UK is sometimes offered as a reason why age verification cannot be improved. However, we note that age verification has to be in place in non-internet environments by law (for example, the sale of pornography on DVD) and if we as a society are saying that the supply of adult material needs control, then that control should operate across all outlets, irrespective of the ease of checking the buyer's age.
51.
Some internet companies are already tightening their own age control systems voluntarily and we feel strongly that the industry has the wherewithal to find a solution. The work being initiated by UKCCIS on both age verification and parental controls is positive.
52.
This work should proceed without delay, and must involve parents to ensure a proper understanding of the issues and to develop an optimal solution. However, if voluntary action is not forthcoming quickly then Government should consider regulation (for example, as part of the planned Communications Bill), however problematic that might be.
RECOMMENDATION
5.
Making it easier for parents to block adult and age-restricted material from the internet. To provide a consistent level of protection across all media, as a matter of urgency, the internet industry should ensure that customers must make an active choice over what sort of content they want to allow their children to access. To facilitate this, the internet industry must act decisively to develop and introduce effective parental controls, with Government regulation if voluntary action is not forthcoming within a reasonable timescale. In addition, those providing content which is age-restricted, whether by law or company policy, should seek robust means of age verification as well as making it easy for parents to block underage access. ACTION: Internet industry and providers of age-restricted content, through the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS)
