Report: Taiwan's Ministry Of The Interior To Consider Game Rating Scheme

Games and the internet are must be more tightly regulated as part of a larger bid to "provide more concrete and comprehensive protection of the rights of children and adolescents," says Interior Minister Jiang Yi-huah. A report by Focus Taiwan, a unit of Taiwan's Central News Agency, suggests that the changing digital cultural landscape has lead the Taiwanese Ministry of the Interior to consider tighter control over the internet and games markets. The report says that minister Jiang made remarks regarding these topics at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan's Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee. There, Jiang suggested a legally-imposed rating system for games in addition to other new controls. While the effects of this rating system on game content are not specifically discussed, the goal of the media and internet-related amendments is "to protect local youngsters from exposure to pornography or other inappropriate materials," the report says. According to the Focus Taiwan story, amendments to the original 2003 law which governs this area have already been drafted. Though the amendment draft review process has begun, the media and internet portion has yet to be considered by the committee, which has so far focused on an unrelated part of the law concerning child adoption policies.