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2. • THE BRITISH BOARD OF FILM CLASSIFICATION IS AN INDEPENDENT, NON-GOVERNMENTAL BODY WHICH HAS
CLASSIFIED CINEMA FILMS SINCE IT WAS SET UP IN 1912 AND VIDEOS/ DVDS SINCE THE VIDEO RECORDINGS
ACT WAS PASSED IN 1984.
• THE BOARD IS A SELF-FUNDED QUANGO. ITS BUSINESS AFFAIRS ARE CONTROLLED BY A COUNCIL OF
MANAGEMENT SELECTED FROM LEADING FIGURES IN THE MANUFACTURING AND SERVICING SECTORS OF THE
FILM INDUSTRY. THIS COUNCIL APPOINTS THE PRESIDENT, WHO HAS STATUTORY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE
CLASSIFICATION OF VIDEOS AND THE DIRECTOR WHO HAS EXECUTIVE RESPONSIBILITY AND FORMULATES
POLICY. THE BOARD, WHICH IS BASED IN SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, IS FINANCED FROM THE FEES IT CHARGES
FOR CLASSIFYING FILMS AND VIDEOS AND IS RUN ON A NOT-FOR-PROFIT BASIS.

3. • THE OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS COMMONLY KNOWN AS OFCOM, IS THE GOVERNMENT-APPROVED REGULATORY AND
COMPETITION AUTHORITY FOR THE BROADCASTING, TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND POSTAL INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED
KINGDOM.
• OFCOM HAS WIDE-RANGING POWERS ACROSS THE TELEVISION, RADIO, TELECOMS AND POSTAL SECTORS. IT HAS A
STATUTORY DUTY TO REPRESENT THE INTERESTS OF CITIZENS AND CONSUMERS BY PROMOTING COMPETITION AND
PROTECTING THE PUBLIC FROM HARMFUL OR OFFENSIVE MATERIAL.
• SOME OF THE MAIN AREAS OFCOMPRESIDES OVER ARE LICENSING, RESEARCH, CODES AND POLICIES, COMPLAINTS,
COMPETITION AND PROTECTING THE RADIO SPECTRUM FROM ABUSE (E.G. PIRATE RADIO STATIONS).
• THE REGULATOR WAS INITIALLY ESTABLISHED BY THE OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS ACT 2002 AND RECEIVED ITS FULL
AUTHORITY FROM THE COMMUNICATIONS ACT 2003.

4. • THE PAN-EUROPEAN GAME INFORMATION (PEGI) AGE RATING SYSTEM WAS ESTABLISHED TO HELP EUROPEAN
PARENTS MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS ON BUYING COMPUTER GAMES. IT WAS LAUNCHED IN SPRING 2003
AND REPLACED A NUMBER OF NATIONAL AGE RATING SYSTEMS WITH A SINGLE SYSTEM NOW USED
THROUGHOUT MOST OF EUROPE, IN 30 COUNTRIES (AUSTRIA DENMARK, HUNGARY, LATVIA, NORWAY,
SLOVENIA, BELGIUM, ESTONIA, ICELAND, LITHUANIA, POLAND, SPAIN, BULGARIA, FINLAND, IRELAND,
LUXEMBOURG, PORTUGAL, SWEDEN, CYPRUS, FRANCE, ISRAEL, MALTA, ROMANIA, SWITZERLAND, CZECH
REPUBLIC, GREECE, ITALY, THE NETHERLANDS, SLOVAK REPUBLIC AND THE UNITED KINGDOM)
THE SYSTEM IS SUPPORTED BY THE MAJOR CONSOLE MANUFACTURERS, INCLUDING SONY, MICROSOFT AND
NINTENDO, AS WELL AS BY PUBLISHERS AND DEVELOPERS OF INTERACTIVE GAMES THROUGHOUT EUROPE. THE
AGE RATING SYSTEM WAS DEVELOPED BY THE INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE FEDERATION OF EUROPE (ISFE).