Video Recordings Act 1984
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| Long title | An Act to make provision for regulating the distribution of video recordings and for connected purposes. |
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| Citation | 1984 c. 39 |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales Scotland Northern Ireland |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 12 July 1984 |
| Commencement | 1 September 1988 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | Video Recordings Act 1993, Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, Digital Economy Act 2010 |
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Status: Current legislation
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| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
The Video Recordings Act 1984 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was passed in 1984. It states that commercial video recordings offered for sale or for hire within the UK must carry a classification that has been agreed upon by an authority designated by the Home Office. The British Board of Film Classification, which had been instrumental in the certification of motion pictures since 1912, was designated as the classifying authority in 1985. Works are classified by the BBFC under an age-rated system (see motion picture rating systems); it is an offence under the Act to supply video works to individuals who are (or appear to be) under the age of the classification designated. Works that are refused classification cannot, under the Act, be legally sold or supplied to anyone of any age unless it is educational, or to do with a sport, religion or music and does not depict violence, sex or incite a criminal offence. The BBFC may also require cuts to be made, either to receive a certain age rating, or to be allowed a classification at all.
In August 2009 it was discovered that the Act was unenforceable as the European Commission was not notified about it, as required by Directive 83/189 (see now Directive 98/34). Directive 83/189 had to be implemented by 31 March 1984 (12 months after its notification to the Member States). Until this situation was rectified, it was legal to sell and supply unclassified videos and computer games, although many retailers had agreed to observe the regulations voluntarily. Then pending prosecutions under the Act were abandoned, but the government has claimed that past convictions cannot be challenged.
In December 2009 the government introduced new legislation, the Video Recordings Act 2010, which repealed and immediately revived the Video Recordings Act 1984, after the required notification was provided to the European Commission in October 2009. This made the legislation enforceable once again, as well as allowing it to be amended by the Digital Economy Act 2010. In December 2014 streaming and on demand services were brought under the remit of this act via the Audiovisual Media Services Regulations 2014.
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