A child protection group says proposed changes to cinema trailer rules could lead to psychological harm in kids.

Children could suffer lasting psychological damage if proposed changes to cinema trailer classifications are approved, a child protection group claims.

The Australian Council on Children and the Media, which runs the Know Before You Go movie review service for parents, has drawn attention to a proposal now before Communications Minister Mitch Fifield that seeks to allow trailers for M-rated movies to be screened before movies rated PG, so long as the trailers themselves are rated, or likely to be rated, PG.

Parenting expert Steve Biddulph, a patron of the ACCM, on Wednesday urged his 170,000 or so Facebook followers to complete a survey posted by the group seeking views on the matter.

In its first 24 hours, the survey has drawn around 2300 responses from concerned parents; the group’s last survey received 1000 responses in two months.

The ACCM’s Barbara Biggins claims the proposed changes could “create a misleading idea of what the film is about”, and might generate “an extremely scary experience that doesn’t bother an adult but may stay with a child”.

There is also a “philosophical issue” in the proposed change, Ms Biggins says. “Having chosen my entertainment and paid for it I don’t want M-rated movies being marketed to my child.”

– Karl Quinn

Read More: Not suitable for children: Parenting group warns on plan to change trailer rules

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