Classification Board Director Wants to Rate Mobile Apps

October 23, 2009

Australia’s Classification Board wants to extend its sphere of influence to mobile applications.

Classification Board Director Donald McDonald (left) has written to Commonwealth Censorship Minister Brendan O'Connor on the issue and also relayed his concerns to a Senate Estimates Committee, expressing his unease that:

Some so-called mobile phone applications, which can be purchased online or either downloaded to mobile phones or played online via mobile phone access, are not being submitted to the board for classification.

The delayed rating of World of Warcraft down under—it took five years for the title to receive a rating—apparently spurred McDonald’s interest in rating mobile content, reports Australia’s ITnews.

A Classification Board spokesperson clarified that McDonald’s rating talk was referring only to “mobile applications which are computer games.”

Apple currently governs its own content on iTunes, but said that if changes needed to be made, “We do what the Australian Classification people tell us to do.”

In rating any mobile content, the Classification Board said it would “apply the National Classification Code, the Classification Act, and the Guidelines for the Classification of Films and Computer.”

|Via Edge-Online| Thanks Ryan

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Comments

Re: Classification Board Director Wants to Rate Mobile Apps

The delayed rating of World of Warcraft down under—it took five years for the title to receive a rating
Wait, WHAT?

Re: Classification Board Director Wants to Rate Mobile Apps

I am sorry for you australian gamers... Now you will not play mobile games.

 

Yes, exactly what I said...

 

Here in Brazil mobile games classification is mandatory, so companies don't sell them at all, since sending all them to rating would be too cumbersome.

To buy a game using iTunes for example you have to use a fake US address and account.

 

criadordejogos.wordpress.com

--- MaurĂ­cio Gomes twitter.com/agfgames

Re: Classification Board Director Wants to Rate Mobile Apps

SUPER CENSORSHIP

HERE TO MAKE ADULT CONTENT SAFE FROM ADULTS


Never underestimate the power of idiots in large amounts.

Never underestimate the power of idiots in large amounts.

Re: Classification Board Director Wants to Rate Mobile Apps

Joy, now Atkinson can keep cell phone games at bay.

Re: Classification Board Director Wants to Rate Mobile Apps

Better grab your mobile version of Centipede before the Aussie board rates it too violent against defenseless critters!

Re: Classification Board Director Wants to Rate Mobile Apps

Wait, they don't allow games for truly mature audiences because there is no adult rating, but they now want to classify games for cellphones, mostly the domain of adults?

Retarded.  And gay.

---

He was dead when I got here.

--- With the first link, the chain is forged.

Re: Classification Board Director Wants to Rate Mobile Apps

Does it sound retarded? Yes. It wants a sexual relationship with others of the same gender? Now you're the one that sounds it. I wish people would stop using the word 'gay' with things that are 'bad' Especially when it is something that 'can't' be gay. You had made good points up to then.

With that said and done, I wonder if this includes Apple IPhone games as well? It will be interesting to see how many cell phone games get 'canned' becuase of their hate of mature rated games. "Oh! In our haste to control the console and PC videogame content, we completly forgot that games can be played on cellphones. We need to regulate this as well."

 -W

Re: Classification Board Director Wants to Rate Mobile Apps

Hello Pot, have you met Kettle?  I believe you were telling him something regarding his color not long ago.

Seriously though, as long as you're willing to throw around the term 'retarded', you have no position from which to tell people not to call things gay.

Re: Classification Board Director Wants to Rate Mobile Apps

The context of a word is practicably meaningless without a sentence to back it up.Useign gay as a diss is no different than using black/dark as acontextually negative word.


Until lobbying is a hanging offense I choose anarchy! Stop supporting big media and furthering the criminalization of consumers!! http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com/



I have a dream, break the chains of copy right oppression! http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com/2011/12/31/what-is-cigital-disobedience/

 

Re: Classification Board Director Wants to Rate Mobile Apps

@ZippyDSMlee

That was rather nitpicky of me to say that. I apologize.

 - W

Re: Classification Board Director Wants to Rate Mobile Apps

Don't be so gay with your nit-picking.

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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.

-------------------------------------------------- I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.
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