Re-elected Coalition promises to update Australia’s classification code

Developers were not consulted before the Coalition announced plans to change the  classification of video games with loot boxes.

The federal government undertook a broad-ranging review of the classification system in December 2019, with submissions open until February 2020.

Since then, the government has not responded to the submissions, despite bringing in the Online Safety Act in the interim two years. The act relies on the system to determine what content can be viewed online and what social media platforms must remove.

Ron Curry, the CEO of the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association, said the organisation had worked closely with the Coalition government on the 2019 review and was still waiting to see the results

Communications minister, Paul Fletcher, said  a re-elected Coalition government would update Australia’s classification code which, apart from allowing R-ratings for video games in 2013, has not been updated since the VHS era.

Labor’s shadow minister for communications, Michelle Rowland, said the announcement showed the government wasn’t serious about protecting consumers, or it would not have sat on the classification review for two years or “waited until the eve of an election” to make the announcement.

Samantha Floreani, the program lead at Digital Rights Watch, said the classification system is “outdated and not fit for purpose”   

- The Guardian