Legal Considerations of the BBFC

A variety of different laws are relevant to the BBFC in their classification of films, these are:

Human Rights Act 1998

• Right of respect for private and family life
• Right to freedom of expression

The Licensing Act 2003

• Cinemas require a license from the local authority in which they operate
• This must include a condition that restricts children from being admitted to films restricted from them by the BBFC or local authorities classification

The Video Recordings Act 1984

• Video works supplied on disc, tape or any other device must be classified by the BBFC unless they fall within the definition of an exempted work

The Obscene Publications Act 1959 & 1964

• It is illegal to publish any work considered obscene
• A work is considered obscene when, taken as a whole, it has a tendency to deprave and corrupt
• However, no offence is commited if the publication is in the interest of science, art, literature or learning

Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2006

• It is illegal to be in possession of an extreme pornographic image
• Works classified by the BBFC under the Video Recordings act are excluded from the scope of the offence

The Protection of Children Act 1978

• It is illegal to make, distribute, show or possess indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of a child (a person under the age of 18)

The Sexual Offences Act 2003

• It is illegal to expose oneself with intent to cause alarm or distress
• It is illegal for a person to record the private act of another for the sexual gratification of himself or a third party where the recorded party has not consented to being filmed

The Public Order Act 1986

• It is illegal to distribute, show or play to the public a recording of visual images or sounds which are threatening, abusive or insulting if the intention is to encourage discrimination/hatred

The Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937

• It is illegal to show any scene organised or directed for the purpose of the film that involves actual cruelty to animals
• According to the Animal Welfare Act 2006, only vertebrates which are domesticated or otherwise under the control of man are considered animals

The Animal Welfare Act 2006

• It is illegal to supply, publish or show a video recording of an animal fight that has taken place within Great Britain since 6th April 2007

The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002

• It is illegal, in the course of a business, to publush a tabacco advert