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The UK Age Appropriate Design Code: Childproofing the Digital World

“A generation from now, I believe we will look back and find it peculiar that online services weren’t always designed with children in mind. When my grandchildren are grown and have children of their own, the need to keep children safer online will be as second nature as the need to ensure they eat healthy, […]

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Jan 21, 2021

The UK Age Appropriate Design Code: Childproofing the Digital World

By John Falzone, VP Privacy Certified
Oct 14, 2020

The UK’s Age Appropriate Design Code: 5 Steps to Get You Started

By John Falzone, VP Privacy Certified
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65% of the ESRB ratings assigned to physical and console downloadable video games in 2020 were either E (Everyone) or E10+ (Everyone 10+).

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84% of parents who purchase physical video games for their children are aware of ESRB ratings and 75% regularly check them before buying a game. (Source: Hart Research Associates, 2020)

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Most parents consider each part (Rating Category, Content Descriptors, Interactive Elements) of the ESRB rating system to be either “very” or “extremely” important when deciding if a game or app is appropriate for their kids. (Source: Hart Research Associates, 2020)

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Industry guidelines, which are enforced by the ESRB, prohibit the inappropriate target marketing of Mature-rated games.

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ESRB has an enforcement system which allows for the imposition of sanctions, fines (including fines up to $1 million), and corrective actions on publishers for non-compliance with its guidelines.

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According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission 87% of kids under the age of 17 are turned away when trying to buy an M-rated game at retail.

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The late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote: “This [ESRB rating] system does much to ensure that minors cannot purchase seriously violent games on their own, and that parents who care about the matter can readily evaluate the games their children bring home.”

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The E (Everyone) rating was originally called K-A (Kids to Adults) but was changed in 1998.

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The ESRB rating system has three parts – Rating Categories, Content Descriptors and Interactive Elements, the latter of which were introduced in 2013.

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Introduced in 2008, Rating Summaries provide greater detail about the content in physical games rated by the ESRB, and are exclusively available on this website or the ESRB mobile app by conducting a title search.

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ESRB uses more than 30 different Content Descriptors to help communicate what’s in a game.

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The FTC considers the ESRB to have “the strongest self-regulatory code” among media rating systems in the U.S. and has confirmed that retailers maintain a high store policy compliance rate.

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Founded in 2013 by many of the world’s leading video game rating authorities, the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) administers the first globally streamlined age classification process for digital games and mobile apps that respects the unique cultural norms of each region.

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In 1999 ESRB Privacy Online (now called ESRB Privacy Certified) launched its certification program and was sanctioned by the FTC as a “Safe Harbor” under Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

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More than 70% of parents would be more comfortable allowing their children to download and play a game certified by ESRB Privacy Certified (Source: Hart Research Associates, 2018).

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It’s never too late to have “the conversation” with your kids about what, when, and how they can play!

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Activating parental controls on your children’s video game devices helps you enforce house rules, such as limiting play time, blocking games with certain ESRB ratings, and managing in-game spending.

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The average gamer is between the ages of 35 and 44.

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