Children to be protected from exorcists, Rihanna and junk food

Programmes about exorcism, occult practices and paranormal issues should not be aired between 6am and 9pm according to a new set of guidelines issued for public consultation by the Broadcasting Authority.

The new rules protecting minors in broadcasting state that programmes dealing with “paranormal practices” should be carried after 9pm. The rule does not apply to programmes involving drama, films or comedies.

Similar rules guiding broadcasting issued by Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator in the UK, specifically ban “demonstrations” of exorcism, occult practices and the paranormal before the 9pm watershed.

The new rules also protect children from commercial exploitation, prohibiting the depiction of sponsorship logos during children’s programmes and banning any advertising inviting minors to buy products or services through distance communication including mail, phone, computer, e-mail or internet.

Moreover, Ronald Macdonald may no longer make any appearances on children’s programmes but the new rules do not explicitly ban adverts for junk food in the 6pm to 9pm bracket.

The document proposes that advertising for junk food can be aired less than 30 minutes before a children’s programme, during the programme itself and within 30 minutes of the end of a children’s programme.

The ban covers adverts of alcoholic beverages, medicines, vitamins or slimming products, care and establishments, lotteries or games similar to gambling, soft drinks, fruit juice, mineral water with different flavours, energy and sports drinks, drinks with a caffeine content, food and drink containing a high content of trans fats, salt or sugar, sweet syrups, white rice, products made from white flour, GMOs, dyes, chemicals or artificial preservatives.

Children will not be allowed to imitate adults in fashion modelling, singing or dancing.

Songs selected for dancing or to be sung by children should not have any explicit or implicit sexual connotation, which will effectively ban children and teens from dancing to the tunes of popular singers like Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and Beyonce.

The guidelines also ban beauty competitions from being held during children’s programmes.

The new rules also limit the participation of under-16 year olds in political activities. 

This ban may contrast with the lowering of the voting age to 16, which would necessarily result in the politicisation of people on the verge of turning 16.

The guidelines ban close-ups of children whenever a political activity is being shot. Minors will be banned from appearing or participating in programmes involving party politics. 

Neither will minors appear in advertisements involving party politics.