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The BBFC published new Guidelines in June 2009. These replaced the last set of published Guidelines written in 2005. Here is a summary of key research findings and changes made. The new Guidelines are available here. The old Guidelines are available for comparison here.

Research findings:

• 82 per cent of recent film and DVD viewers thought the BBFC was an effective regulator

• The same people agreed with 99 per cent of the classification decisions for the films they had watched

• Around 80 per cent of people surveyed found the BBFC’s Consumer Advice useful, with this figure rising to 85 per cent of parents with primary school aged children

• 85 per cent of people who responded to the web based questionnaire found the Board’s website for parents – www.pbbfc.co.uk – useful

• 74 per cent or respondents understood that the ‘12A’ category means that the film is not generally suitable for under 12s.

Main changes to the Guidelines when compared with the Guidelines published in 2005.

• Clearer and more detailed information about what the Board takes into account when classifying works and when interventions (such as cuts) will be made and on what grounds

• A clearer definition of ‘harm’, which results from the High Court ruling on the video game Manhunt 2

• The introduction of ‘discrimination’ as a key classification issue in each of the categories covering race, gender, religion, disability or sexuality.

• Clearer and more detailed information about how the tone and impact of a film is taken into account, as opposed to simply considering what is actually shown on screen

• At ‘U’, the relaxation of the Guideline on references to drugs to allow for references which are both infrequent and innocuous.  Under the old Guidelines a documentary which mentioned the Opium Wars between Britain and China had to be passed at ‘PG’ for this single reference alone 

• At the ‘12A’/’12’ category a tightening of the horror criteria. This is in line with the introduction of tone and impact and would mean that some films, like The Others, would be likely to be given a higher classification

• At ‘12A’/’12’ there will be a presumption against the passing of frequent crude sexual references.  This is in response to concerns expressed by the public about films such as Date Movie, Meet the Spartans and Norbit.

• At ‘15’, solvent abuse is now specifically mentioned as a classification issue and depictions are unlikely to be passed.  This is in response, not only to public concern, but expert opinion

• Trailers and advertisements which are on the borderline between two categories be given the more restrictive rating because of the fact that the public has not chosen which trailers and advertisements to watch and because the BBFC has no control over which trailers or advertisements are shown before a particular film (eg a horror trailer before a ‘rom-com’).  The exception will be public information films and charity advertisements where stronger material is acceptable to the public when there is a ‘public good’ justification. 

• At ‘18’ the Board will continue to maintain the right of adults to choose their own entertainment unless material is in breach of the criminal law; or the treatment appears to the BBFC to risk harm to individuals or through their behaviour, to society; or where there are more explicit images of sexual activity which cannot be justified by context.  As part of the research, respondents were specifically asked about explicit images of real sex in main stream films like 9 Songs and the clear message was that these images were acceptable at ‘18’ because of the context in which they appeared.

David Cooke, Director of the BBFC said of the changes:

“There may be criticism from some quarters that these changes are not more drastic or restrictive, but they are significant and will have an impact on our classification decisions.  They also represent the views of the majority of the public. 

“The BBFC is committed to ensuring that works are placed in the most appropriate category for them, in line with public expectations, and we will back up these decisions with the sort of information the public needs to make informed choices about what they and their families watch. 

“Our Consumer Advice, which appears on film advertising and DVD packaging, is well recognised and appreciated and for people who want more detailed information there is the Extended Classification Information for all films, which appears on our main website, and the specifically tailored information for parents which appears on www.pbbfc.co.uk.”

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