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SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS INC.

Spark’s Lightbox television service continuing to mislead viewers, says censor

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A row between the chief censor and internet television service Lightbox has deepened, with the latest spat over the labelling of adult western Deadwood.

Chief censor Andrew Jack said the Spark-owned company was “continuing to mislead its customers” with “inaccurate” content warnings.

Lightbox chief executive Kym Niblock said Lightbox was meeting the needs of its customers and expressed disappointment Jack had taken his concerns to the media without contacting the company.

Jack said Lightbox had labelled Deadwood with a “provisional R16” rating that failed to include specific warnings about its violent and sexual content from its official R16 classification.

He had previously complained about what he described as inadequate content warnings on ballet-themed drama series Flesh and Bone, which is also shown on Lightbox. [Read more…]

Chief censor labels warning on Lightbox drama Flesh and Bone ‘inadequate’

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A row has erupted between chief censor Andrew Jack and Spark television subsidiary Lightbox over warning labels on programmes.

Jack accused Lightbox of failing to properly warn its viewers of the “stronger content” in one of its imported US drama, Flesh and Bone.

He also released correspondence showing Lightbox had already decided to “suspend” submitting programmes to the Film and Video Labelling Body (FVLB) for classification.

Lightbox chief executive Kym Niblock said on Thursday morning that Spark might stop submitting Lightbox programmes to the FVLB, amid confusion over the legal obligations faced by internet television providers. [Read more…]

Sexting like ‘drug addiction’ for Kiwi teens, with kids as young as 11 taking part

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Sexting is being labelled a drug-like addiction for some Kiwi teens, with increasing numbers of young people sending naked photos of themselves.

Sexting, the sending of explicit phone messages, often with naked photos, is now so common that New Zealand parents would struggle to find a teenager who has not been asked to send one, NetSafe has warned. [Netsafe Inc. is a New Zealand registered charity – Reg. No. CC24058].

The head of NetSafe is aware of children as young as 11 sexting, and said suicide was among the most-extreme outcomes.

And the problem comes with a stark warning – images can last online forever, and appear each time the sender’s name is typed into a search engine.

“For some teens, [sexting] has become quite a normal part of dating,” said NetSafe chief technology officer Sean Lyons.

“You’d be hard pressed to find a teen that hasn’t been asked to send a naked or semi-naked photo of themselves in New Zealand.”

See full article: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/76672892/sexting-like-drug-addiction-for-kiwi-teens-with-kids-as-young-as-11-taking-part

 

Censor Criticised Over Approach to Explicit Book

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Family First NZ has made an additional submission regarding the
re-classification of Into the River by Ted Dawe, and says that parents should
be concerned by the arguments being put forward by the Chief Censor to justify
making objectionable books with highly offensive language and explicit sexual
content freely available without any age restriction.

Copy of submission here https://www.familyfirst.org.nz/2015/09/supplementary-submission-to-the-board-of-review-into-the-river/

Into the River ban was in ‘public interest’, Dr Don Mathieson

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Complete freedom of expression is impossible in a society that also allows censorship, says the man who has singlehandedly shut down sales of teen novel Into the River.

Don Mathieson, president of the Film and Literature Board of Review, said an interim restriction order – which makes it a crime to supply, display or distribute the award-winning book – was “in the public interest”.

“I’m just applying an act of Parliament … It’s impossible to have complete 100% freedom of expression and any form of censorship of written materials and that’s the tension we all have to live with and if anybody hasn’t got the brains to see that, then, I’m sorry . . . ”

Mathieson, speaking publicly for the first time since he issued his restriction order, said he had read Into the River“sufficiently recently to have a detailed knowledge of it”.

“I can’t comment on the merits of the book. It may have considerable merit and the board will decide whether it has or not. But the question is not how good of a bit of literature it is, but how does the act apply to it?”

His ruling remains in place until the next full meeting of the Review Board, scheduled for October 2. [Read more…]