Psychologist wants to spank errant retailers
The latest review commissioned by the Brown government has unsurprisingly concluded that Britain needs yet another unelected, taxpayer-funded body with a license to meddle.
Psychologist Dr Tanya Byron found the voluntary Pan European Game Information (PEGI) system inadequate and recommended a legally binding system of age rating for games, similar to that already applied by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).
No link between videogames and real world violence has ever been established, but empirical evidence is not a binding requirement for social scientists. They know what’s best for society.
Two weeks ago the High Court ruled that the BBFC could not deny an 18 rating to ultra-gory Manhunt 2. Legislation already exists to punish underage sales. The UK Council for Child Internet Safety – the quango proposed by Byron – appears to offer nothing new except cosy sinecures for psychologists.
Dr Byron’s solution to abuse of social networking sites is to recommend that computers be kept in ‘shared spaces,’ so that parents can monitor children’s internet use. Yeah, that’s gonna happen.
In related news, security software giant Symantec was so quick to jump on the bandwagon, you could almost believe it had advance knowledge of the findings.
