This article was first published in Internet Law Bulletin,
2012, Vol 15 Issue 7.
Recently, the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) finished a
review of Australia's classification laws. This was the first
review of its kind in two decades. In that 20-year period,
technology has rapidly pro-gressed, making current classification
laws somewhat obsolete.
The ALRC report, Classification -- Content Regulation and
Convergent Media,1 makes a number of
recommendations for a national classification scheme in the new
media landscape.
Problems with the current framework
We live in a society of ever-changing media technologies,
platforms and services. As more media is being accessed from the
home through high-speed broadband networks, it increases the
exposure of children to a wider variety of media -- including
television, music, films, computer games and advertising. The
current Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act
1995 (Cth), which regulates
