Online games should be subject to the same scrutiny as video games and films, chief censor Bill Hastings says.
Under current law, only video games considered to have restricted content need to be submitted to the Office of Film and Literature Classification for scrutiny.
This was an anomaly that needed to be rectified, Mr Hastings said.
“The law hasn’t managed to keep up with technology, so it’s a loophole that has been created by the law not being able to keep up.”
In a briefing to Internal Affairs Minister Richard Worth, Mr Hastings said any computer game that had received a rating equivalent to a G, PG and M in Australia or Britain, and had no restricted content, was exempt from New Zealand labelling requirements.
Mr Hastings believed online games should be submitted for New Zealand classification.
There was uncertainty among retailers and distributors over their classification. “If in doubt, submit, that is my advice, and as much of the content as you can [to the office] if it looks as if it’s going to have restrictive content.
“I don’t want to downplay the difficulties of the online digital environment because it does create its own challenges and it will get more difficult and more of a challenge as more content goes digital. [stuff]
