Council Resolution of 1 March 2002 on the protection of consumers, in particular young people, through the labelling of certain video games and computer games according to age group
Date: 2002-03-01
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: automatic game, consumer information, consumer protection, labelling, young person

C 65/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

14.3.2002

COUNCIL RESOLUTION

of 1 March 2002

on the protection of consumers, in particular young people, through the labelling of certain video
games and computer games according to age group

(2002/C 65/02)

7. RECOGNISES that it would be useful to encourage in all
the development of clear and simple

Member States
rating systems to assess the contents of these products.

8. CONSIDERS that the current cooperation both at national
and Community level among companies of the interactive
leisure software industry as regards the rating and labelling
of contents contributes to an effective protection of minors
and to the realisation of the full potential of the industry
and underlines
in this connection the importance of
in
continuing to involve the other
particular consumer associations and representatives of
parents and young people.

interested parties,

9. ACKNOWLEDGES that self-regulation is one of the adequate
means, through the participation of all interested parties,
in particular that of consumers,
to support age-rating
systems
interactive leisure software contained in
video games and computer games, on its own or as a
to the measures implemented by Member
complement
States in this field.

for

10.

States

and the Commission,

INVITES Member
each
according to their own competencies, to intensify coop-
eration with all
interested parties, such as industry, the
creators of contents, consumers and young people, on
the exchange of information and experience, in order to
identify best practices regarding the rating and labelling of
video games and computer games according to age group,
taking account of cultural diversity and different national
and local sensibilities.

11. WELCOMES the undertaking by the Commission of a study
on the rating practices used in the Community and notes
that this study also covers other products such as film,
DVDs and videocassettes which may also pose problems
are regards the protection of minors and the functioning of
the internal market.

12. INVITES the Commission, drawing on the results of the
abovementioned cooperation, as well as the results of the
abovementioned study, to keep under review developments
in the construction and use of various methods for the
assessment of the contents of video games and computer
games as well as for their rating and labelling, reporting
back to the Council, as necessary.

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

1. NOTES the wide and increasing availability of video games
and computer games;
interactive leisure software
that
contained in video games and in computer games on
in shops or distributed through the
sale or
internet constitutes an important and growing market.

rent

for

2. NOTES that these products, due to their heterogeneity as
well as to the diversity of their contents, are aimed at
consumers of different ages.

3. IS CONCERNED in particular that the contents of some of
these products can make them inappropriate for use by
minors because of the harm which may be caused to them.

such as

in the framework of

4. RECALLS the actions being undertaken in the Community
in matters pertaining to the protection of minors against
harmful contents,
the
Decision adopting a multiannual Community action plan
on promoting safer use of the Internet by combating illegal
and harmful content on global networks (1) and as
follow-up to Council Recommendation on the devel-
opment of the competitiveness of the European audiovisual
and information services industry by promoting national
frameworks aimed at achieving a comparable and effective
level of protection of minors and human dignity (2) and
reaffirms their imortance.

5. STRESSES THE IMPORTANCE for consumers to have access to
clear information, as regards the assessment of contents
and the subsequent rating according to age groups, on
the products being marketed,
to allow an
informed choice and particularly to protect young people
from potentially harmful
in this
labelling is one important means of
connection that
achieving better
the
information and transparency for
consumer, as well as of ensuring that the internal market
functions harmoniously.

in order

contents;

reaffirms

6. NOTES that many European Union Member States have
rating systems according to age, on the basis of diverse
criteria, reflecting cultural diversity and different national
and local sensibilities.

(1) Decision No 276/1999/EC of the European Parliament and of the

Council of 25 January 1999 (OJ L 33, 6.2.1999, p. 1).

(2) Council Recommendation of 28 September 1998 (OJ L 270,

7.10.1998, p. 48).