Online music videos to carry age restrictions from October

The Prime Minister has announced that online music videos will carry an age classification from October as part of a scheme by YouTube, Vevo and the British Board of Classification to protect children from “graphic content”.

Speaking to the Relationships Alliance on Monday, David Cameron said: “Helping families with children and parenting shouldn’t stop at childbirth. To take just one example – bringing up children in an internet age, you are endlessly worried about what they are going to find online.”

From Robin Thicke’s controversial Blurred Lines to Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball, the availability of sexual content online – from music videos to pornography – is arguably at an all-time high.

Under the new scheme, “family friendly” filters will be made the default setting for all new online customers, while existing customers will be encouraged to make an active choice about whether to install them.

Cameron added that the internet should not be ceded as a “lawless space” where the normal rules of life don’t apply.

“So, in as far as it is possible, we should try to make sure that the rules that exist offline exist online,” he said. “So if you want to go and buy a music video offline there are age restrictions on it. We should try and recreate that system on the internet.”