1984 film classification law gets reboot

hmm..

wouldnt put it past them to attempt to regulate digital video, coming from other countries, off of private servers.

Religious DVDS

How about classifying these all as R18 and only allowing them to be sold in licensed premises that children are banned from entering?

Wait, they forgot to what?

So the procedural error was that they forgot to inform the EU about the bill? in 1984?

The EU DIDN'T EXIST IN 1984!

Now on the face of it this is an entirely understandable mistake to make, assuming that the EU has always been the EU, but it didn't exist in 1984 even so. It was the EEC back them, still sold as a free trade area (even though it was a customs union), and didn't become the EU until 1996.

What riles me is that even back then our parliament had to "inform" the then EEC of laws it was implementing which, if it had been a free trade area, would not have had to happen. Today, in most cases, the government can't even start making policies without express permission from the EU (which is why the government has become obsessed with expanding its power in just a few tiny slices of its previous legislative authority, as everything else belongs to the EU). Why? Why should a sovereign country have to ask permission to implement laws on its own territory?

Oh wait, I forgot, we aren't a sovereign country any more.

On another note, in some senses I agree with David Hicks. Implement a system that doesn't prevent things from being published without a classification. BUT... if the contents of a film are misrepresented then the film maker should be punished just as any other producer would be punished for misrepresenting their products.

Media Mowgli Madness rather than Media Mogul Magic

Here's what they are proposing in a crazy little fascist's state? ..... http://www.thestandard.com/news/2010/01/15/proposed-web-video-restrictions-cause-outrage-italy

This may have more implications......

......than the article implies. I have not read it (the bill) BUT this surely could mean a return to the bad old days of censorship. Personally I want to see a film how the director intended, not some edit that a stiff upper lip prude has been let loose on (and no, I am not talking about pron here, but what happens there..... who knows?). No I am talking of the 18 certificate..... and yes they used to make cuts.

The list of extra cuts in "adult" (not pron) movies done by classification boards is almost endless & most (if not all) are not warranted.

Still, as already pointed out in other posts, the web will hopefully moderatre their cuts as 'full' versions should easily be available for import and even download if copyright whore & puppet mandy does not get his way (what an absolute prick that man is, he is not fit to clean toilets).

1984

The censorship laws in regard to film increasingly becoming irrelevant, I'm surprised it been amended in some way to also control the internet and imports to protect the markets of the big boys film industry.

The internet largely makes film classification irrelevant, especially when it comes to protecting children who are increasingly used to obtaining all their media over the net, through downloads or purchasing dvds from Amazon of wherever where you can buy unrated imports quite openly and "legally".

It only really protects children going into cinemas and stops UK independent film makers film makers from selling their DVDs within the UK without paying the BBFC. Classification is also a very convenient way to control legal domestic distribution. My guess is that the new digital economy laws are also going to used to control censorship and hence domestic market distribution before too long.