Kids are getting easy access to M, R rated programs, movies through digital libraries: cyber experts
CYBER experts have warned children are getting unchecked access to mature-classified movies filled with gratuitous violence and sex scenes via television networks’ digital libraries.
NSW
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CYBER experts have warned children are getting unchecked access to mature-classified movies filled with gratuitous violence and sex scenes on television networks’ digital libraries.
Programs usually hidden from children through late-night programming are now available at the click of a button through apps on smart TVs and tablets. Any child with an email address can access mature-age content on SBS On Demand and ABC iView, including one movie, Lila Says, which portrays a 16-year-old girl who is addicted to sex.
The French movie, rated MA15+, is advertised via the SBS On Demand website alongside The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and a horror film featuring scantily clad women titled Strippers vs. Werewolves.
ABC iView features The Inbetweeners, rated M, and a documentary titled The Best Songs to Have Sex To.
Films in SBS’s online library are separated into categories such as “Get a Room” and “French Frisson”, nearly all of which feature sexual themes and sex scenes.
An SBS spokesman said users creating accounts needed to enter their birth dates and were warned that not all content was appropriate for children.
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“SBS does not broadcast content which exceeds MA15+ on any of its free-to-air platforms, including SBS On Demand,” the spokesman said.
“SBS also requires users to create an account to access SBS On Demand and its terms and conditions of use highlight the need for parental supervision for content that may not appropriate for children.”
The ABC did not respond to requests for comment. Both declined to comment on measures taken to block children from viewing the content.
Cyber safety expert Sharon McLean said catch-up television meant restricted classifications could be viewed by kids at anytime of the day.
“On free to air TV, the adult content has to come on after 9.30pm at night, but the other platforms don’t because they can put what they watch whenever they want online,” she said. “There has always been inappropriate content on TV, but with the internet and all the streaming services anyone can watch it the next day.”
Foxtel, partly owned by News Corp Australia, has a Parental Control function which lets users restrict programs by classification and put PIN locks on purchases.
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