Business

Spherex Classification Tool Approved By Australian Government For Online Content Ratings

The Albanese Government, the federal executive government of Australia, announced it has approved the use of the Spherex Classification Tool as a new mechanism of safeguarding and regulating content in Australia under the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995.

Spherex, a Silicon Valley-based global technology and data company serving the media and entertainment industry, has a longstanding relationship with the Australian Classification Board. Since 2020, Spherex has worked closely with the Australian Government to ensure its technology reliably generates classification decisions that are applicable and consistent with Australian classification standards and the expectations of Australian consumers.

“Given the rapid proliferation of content, the Australian Government recognizes the need for further industry involvement in classification,” said Teresa Phillips, CEO and Co-Founder of Spherex. “We take this responsibility seriously and are committed to working with the Australian Government on governance and evolution of standards to maintain public confidence in our decisions and advisories.”

The approval of the Spherex Classification Tool adds to two other ratings tools available in Australia including the IARC Global Ratings Tool used to classify online and mobile computer games; and the Netflix Classification Tool used for content available on the Netflix Australia video-on-demand service.

“The rigorous testing conducted by my department and Spherex reaffirms my confidence in the decision to approve the Spherex Classification Tool to help Australian viewers make informed choices about the content they choose to watch and engage with,” said the Hon Michelle Rowland MP, Australian Minister for Communications.

As the world’s only commercial provider of local age ratings, Spherex has successfully produced classification decisions for high volumes of online content in 100+ countries. Since 2018, Spherex has issued over one million age ratings for digital content (films, TV shows, and trailers) distributed by its clients to countries worldwide.