History MediaNotes / MediaClassifications

** For television, everything is required to have a rating with the exception of news and information shows, and live sporting events, such as live-to-air games of baseball, football, basketball... etc.[[note]]UsefulNotes/{{UFC}} and other mixed martial arts events are rated TV-MA due to the inherent violence and frequent bloodshed. UsefulNotes/ProfessionalWrestling is not considered a sport under these guidelines and must submit an intended rating before the show (Wrestling/{{WWE}} is usually TV-PG, most Wrestling/{{AEW}} programming is TV-14), doing anything that exceeds that rating can result in heavy fines.[[/note]] By default, they are given a TV-G rating, in order to be compatible with automatic rating screening settings on [=TVs=] and cable boxes. [[note]]An example of this is the American Scripps networks (Cooking Channel, DIY, Food Network, HGTV and the Travel Channel) rating nearly all their shows TV-G, which can be quite a bit jarring when an owner on ''Series/MysteryDiners'' made an observation about an employee and his triplet brothers "triple-fucking" him with their behavior, along with many multiple bleeps in several of their series.[[/note]]

* France: ''Interdiction''.

* US: R (film; "Restricted – under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian" [[note]]for a brief period at the very beginning of the MPAA ratings, from 1968 to 1970, the age limit for R-(and ''X''!)rated movies was 16[[/note]])[[labelnote:Official MPA Description]]"An R-rated motion picture, in the view of the Rating Board, contains some adult material. An R-rated motion picture may include adult themes, adult activity, hard language, intense or persistent violence, sexually-oriented nudity, drug abuse or other elements, so that parents are counseled to take this rating very seriously. Children under 17 are not allowed to attend R-rated motion pictures unaccompanied by a parent or adult guardian. Parents are strongly urged to find out more about R-rated motion pictures in determining their suitability for their children. Generally, it is not appropriate for parents to bring their young children with them to R-rated motion pictures."[[/labelnote]]; TV-MA (Television) - TV-MA rarely appears on broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, etc.) and then only during the "UsefulNotes/SafeHarbor" period of 10 pm - 6 am. You're more likely to see it on original pay cable programs - probably the most popular TV-MA show is ''Series/GameOfThrones''.

* UsefulNotes/PanEuropeanGameInformation
* UsefulNotes/UnterhaltungssoftwareSelbstkontrolle

* MA -- ages 18+, explicit adult themes. Similar to NC-17 or UsefulNotes/AdultsOnlyRatingESRB. Controversially not allowed on Fanfiction.Net, at least in theory; in practice the administration seems to turn a blind eye to M-rated {{lemon}}s beyond a cosmetic purge occasionally when some group en masse complains about them to satisfy their concerns, usually the infamous "Critics United".

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Catholic News Service has its own ratings system for films ([[http://www.catholicnews.com/ratings.htm detailed here]]). These are not binding on Catholics, and are widely unknown or ignored today, though the organization's more active precursor, the Legion of Decency, helped pressure the Hollywood studios into enforcing UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode. The classifications are:

This is rare in the United States, due to the First Amendment, and the fact that the rating system is voluntary. However, distributors may consider passing on a certain work if it's too controversial, for instance the case of Disney's '''G-rated''' ''Film/SongOfTheSouth'', which Creator/{{Disney}} has refused to re-release in recent decades due to content that could be viewed as ValuesDissonance today. Also, films can be banned if the content itself would be deemed illegal under the laws of the United States (again, a very high bar due to the First Amendment.), or if litigation or ongoing criminal proceedings causes a court or agency to put an injunction on the sale or screening of a work until the legal difficulties are resolved. [[note]] These include ''Film/TiticutFollies'', a documentary that was suppressed by court order for decades. The official reason was invasion of privacy, but it is theorized that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was embarrassed by the potential revelations of how horrific the mental-hospital system was at the time; ''The Profit'', which was the target of legal challenges by The Church of Scientology which feared that it would prejudice juries in a then ongoing wrongful death lawsuit and successfully had the film suppressed. The suit was settled, but [[HereWeGoAgain another lawsuit, this one concerning one of the film's investors]], continues to make the film legally unscreenable; ''Hillary: The Movie'', which was briefly banned from screening by the Federal Elections Commission on the grounds that it was an improper electoral ad in violation of the [=McCain=]-Feingold Act. The law in question was later overturned making the suppression moot; and 1982's ''If You Love This Planet'', which was briefly suppressed by the Department of State as "foreign political propaganda", though a legal judgement five years later declared that suppression unconstitutional.[[/note]] Other films can be withheld by their creators and not screened, making them ''de facto'' banned, among these films is ''Film/TheDayTheClownCried'', which Creator/JerryLewis famously refused to distribute throughout his lifetime due to a mixture of legal issues and general disappointment and disgust with the film's subject matter and quality. It has since been allowed to be screened, but only for academic researchers and film historians, and only at one location of the Library of Congress. Similarly, though in a much, ''much'' more extreme manner, is the Creator/MarxBrothers film ''Humor Risk'', which apparently Groucho hated so much that he went to the trouble of making sure every copy was destroyed.

Predating the ESRB in the United States is Creator/{{Sega}}'s V.R.C. (Videogame Rating Council), which used a system that was essentially a simplified version of ESRB's system:

Add to this one or more icons indicating what gave it such a rating: offensive language, behaviors that can be construed as discrimination based on race, creed, ethnicity, and sex (including abuse against women and anyone who isn't heterosexual or doesn't identify as their birth gender), drug abuse, gambling, horror, sexual content (including innuendo and female characters in {{Stripperiffic}} clothing), and violence. However, those ratings are seemingly as random as those in the United States, as ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' got 12+ for "violence". There's also the problem that it doesn't list what kind of violence is 12+ as opposed to 16+ violence. Perhaps it's due to a NICAM (the Dutch rating board that decides on these PEGI ratings) policy that also never seems to disclose why a movie is suitable for all ages despite it being about incest.

[[http://www.fictionratings.com/ The FictionRatings system]] is a self-imposed voluntary system used by [[WebOriginal online publishers]], most notably Website/FanFictionDotNet and Fictionpress, who switched from the MPAA ratings when the MPAA objected. Very rarely used by other fanfiction sites since they're copyrighted to Fanfiction.net and because of the ubiquity and simplicity of the MPAA and BBFC systems.

A similar rating system also runs on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn, a similar yet independent fan fiction site (Which ironically has a FandomRivalry with the above [=Fanfiction Dot Net=] due to the restrictions the latter carried):

Website/{{Newgrounds}} uses a system similar to the ESRB.

As a far as rating systems go, Japan can be pretty lax for an Asian country (according to Website/IMDb, at least), though it is not the most lenient one. Notable for the sheer number of horror flicks that are rated G (such as ''Film/Insidious'', ''Film/LightsOut2016'' and ''Film/AQuietPlace''), which could make you believe that, adult content aside, scaring children to death isn't something that is frowned upon there. Aside from the usual concerns of sex, violence, and drug use, one notable issue that is frowned upon is underage smoking and drinking (hence why films as diverse as the ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' trilogy, ''Film/SingStreet,'' and ''Film/DeadPoetsSociety'' are all rated PG-12).

As a far as rating systems go, Japan can be pretty lax for an Asian country (according to Website/IMDb, at least), though it is not the most lenient one. Notable for the sheer number of horror flicks that are rated G, which could make you believe that, adult content aside, scaring children to death isn't something that is frowned upon there. Aside from the usual concerns of sex, violence, and drug use, one notable issue that is frowned upon is underage smoking and drinking (hence why films as diverse as the ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' trilogy, ''Film/SingStreet,'' and ''Film/DeadPoetsSociety'' are all rated PG-12).

The most prominent and well-known ratings system for video games is administered by the UsefulNotes/EntertainmentSoftwareRatingBoard (or ESRB). The ESRB is a volunteer organization that was created in the mid-90s after ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' and ''VideoGame/NightTrap'' raised concerns about the content of violent or "mature" video games. The ESRB must review ''everything'' -- they see a full script, review all art assets, and even play through the game -- before they give a final rating, and they'll sometimes revise that rating post-launch if circumstances warrant. (The most famous example of this was when the original version of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' was raised from "Mature" to "Adults Only" in the wake of the Hot Coffee scandal. When new versions were released, with the originally DummiedOut content now completely removed, the "Mature" rating returned.)

* UsefulNotes/EntertainmentSoftwareRatingBoard

Sega had their own rating system in Japan between 1994 and 2000 (i.e. the Platform/SegaSaturn era and first half of the [[Platform/SegaDreamcast Dreamcast]] phase), with a different colored label for each rating: a green label for "all ages," a yellow label for "18+ recommended," and a red label for the 18+ "X" rating (which was mostly applied to strip mahjong games, though it was also applied to ''VideoGame/MortalKombatII'' and, strangely enough, a ''Anime/TenchiMuyoRyoOhki'' fan disc). Sega also had a "violent content" advisory label, which is still used to supplement the CERO ratings.

* 18 (청소년 이용불가) - Ages 18+ Only

Content descriptors (only attributed to 12, 15 or 18-rated games, save for Violence, which can also be attributed to ALL-rated games):

[[http://www.kijkwijzer.nl/index.php?id=31 Kijkwijzer]] is the Netherlands' rating system for everything except video games, which are covered by PEGI. As noted above, the ratings are age-based and mostly self-explanatory. As with PEGI, Kijkwijzer uses pictograms to describe the reasons for content ratings: violence, fear, sex, discrimination, drugs and/or alcohol abuse, and coarse language. Note that only the 16+ rating is required to be enforced, all other age ratings are merely suggestions. More recently, the system introduced the 14+ and 18+ ratings, to bridge the gap between 12+ and 16+ and because the 16+ category was considered too large (it included both hard PG-13 material as well as hardcore porn).

[[folder: People under X years of age [usually 12 to 15] need an adult]]

* UsefulNotes/MotionPictureAssociation

ESRB ratings are technically voluntary, but the big three console makers (Creator/{{Sony}}, Creator/{{Nintendo}} and Creator/{{Microsoft}}) require them for all releases, as such all console games from major AAA titles to small indie releases have one. On PC things are much more lenient however, as most stores will allow games without ratings, thus PC-exclusive titles tend to be released unrated (even Creator/{{Valve}} themselves releases their PC-exclusives on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} unrated).

Sega had their own rating system in Japan between 1994 and 2000 (i.e. the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn era and first half of the [[UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast Dreamcast]] phase), with a different colored label for each rating: a green label for "all ages," a yellow label for "18+ recommended," and a red label for the 18+ "X" rating (which was mostly applied to strip mahjong games, though it was also applied to ''VideoGame/MortalKombatII'' and, strangely enough, a ''Anime/TenchiMuyoRyoOhki'' fan disc). Sega also had a "violent content" advisory label, which is still used to supplement the CERO ratings.

This is rare in the United States, due to the First Amendment, and the fact that the rating system is voluntary. However, distributors may consider passing on a certain work if it's too controversial, in the case of Disney's '''G-rated''' ''Film/SongOfTheSouth''. Also, films can be suppressed if the content itself would be deemed illegal under the laws of the United States (again, a very high bar due to the First Amendment), or if litigation causes a court or agency to put an injunction on the sale or screening of a work. [[note]] These include ''Film/TiticutFollies'', a documentary that was suppressed by court order for decades. The official reason was invasion of privacy, but it is theorized that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was embarrassed by the potential revelations of how horrific the mental-hospital system was at the time; ''The Profit'', which was the target of legal challenges by The Church of Scientology which feared that it would prejudice juries in a then ongoing wrongful death lawsuit and successfully had the film suppressed. The suit was settled, but [[HereWeGoAgain another lawsuit, this one concerning one of the film's investors]], continues to make the film legally unscreenable; ''Hillary: The Movie'', which was briefly banned from screening by the Federal Elections Commission on the grounds that it was an improper electoral ad in violation of the [=McCain=]-Feingold Act. The law in question was later overturned making the suppression moot; and 1982's ''If You Love This Planet'', which was briefly suppressed by the Department of State as "foreign political propaganda", though a legal judgement five years later declared that suppression unconstitutional.[[/note]] Other films can be withheld by their creators and not screened, making them ''de facto'' banned, among these films is ''Film/TheDayTheClownCried'', which Creator/JerryLewis famously refused to distribute throughout his lifetime due to a mixture of legal issues and general disappointment and disgust with the film's subject matter and quality. It has since been allowed to be screened, but only for academic researchers and film historians, and only at one location of the Library of Congress.

** Like its American equivalent PG-13, the '12' rating was originally introduced in the cinema due to two problems created by the former large gap between 'PG' and '15'. On one hand, there was worry about the levels of violence and horror in certain action-adventure movies marketed to a family audience (with particular problems being caused by ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom''[[note]]for action violence[[/note]] and ''Film/{{Gremlins}}''[[note]]for gross-out scenes and scenes of destructive mischief that can easily be imitated by younger, more impressionable viewers[[/note]]). On the other hand, there were complaints from film companies and audiences about comedies and dramas aimed at teens being given the R-equivalent '15' rating due to moderate profanity and implied sexual references (in particular ''Film/StandByMe'').

* Germany: "Ungeprüft".Though in Germany, usually this translates to "non-rated", and thus "not to be sold to minors", which is different from the other cases mentioned here as 'E'.

** PG-13 was introduced in 1984 as an intermediary step between PG and R, in response to an upswing of movies that were pushing the envelope of the PG rating - they weren't quite violent or mature enough to merit an R, but had content that few if any people wanted young children to see. The two movies cited as inspiring the creation of the PG-13 rating are ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'' and ''Film/{{Gremlins}}''; the first movie to be rated PG-13 was ''Film/RedDawn1984.''

* B -- ages 1-4 and preschool-level children, no violence, swearing, adult themes or ideas young children cannot comprehend. As anyone younger than five has no business being on Fanfiction.net in any way, and the majority of Fanfiction.net's stories involving preschool franchises and characters are [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids very adult parodies which would scar any child for life]], this rating was quickly phased out of the system entirely. Similar to the ESRB's equally unused [=eC=] rating.

* UK: Rejected.

* Singapore: NAR (Not For All Ratings).
* South Africa: XX.

* Ages 3+ -- eC (Early Childhood); unused as of 2018

[[folder: PEGI ("Pan-European Game Information", Europe except for Germany)]]

* Love (恋愛) - represented by two hearts