Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will have discussions with the Games Rating Authority on the classification of video games; and if she will take steps to reduce the sexualisation of children in video games.

The GRA’s decisions are made independently of the government, which is important to ensure impartiality. The GRA’s age ratings serve to protect the public and empower people to make informed gaming choices, whilst also recognising and respecting adult freedom of choice within the law. The GRA regularly conducts UK research on aspects of the international PEGI classification criteria for video games.

In most cases, the GRA is able to address issues of potential harm by awarding an appropriate age rating or suggesting changes to a developer’s content to make the game acceptable. However, where this is not possible, a classification may be refused.

Even if material is not in breach of a specific UK law, the GRA may also refuse to classify content,
on harm grounds, when content contains:
● Material that promotes criminal activity, including drugs;
● Material that is illegal or has been created by the commission of a criminal offence;
● Portrayals of children in a sexualised or abusive context;
● Material which makes rape, or other non-consensual sexually violent behaviour, or
sadistic violence look appealing.