Kijkwijzer provides advice to parents. It gives a warning if a feature film, DVD production or television programme may be harmful for children up to a particular age. In addition, Kijkwijzer shows by means of pictogrammes what the principal reasons are for this warning: violence, fear, sex, bad language, alcohol/drug abuse or discrimination.

The classification of audiovisual productions is done by the suppliers themselves. They employ coders for this; in total, there are more than 300 coders active with suppliers. They are trained and educated by NICAM. These coders do not themselves allocate an age category to the productions, however. They answer questions on the content of the production in question through a special internet site, using an extensive questionnaire. The NICAM system then determines the final classification on the basis of the answers given, and this is then included in a central database.

Games are classified with the PEGI system. Although this system looks a lot like Kijkwijzer, the age ratings differ a bit from the Kijkwijzer ages. The PEGI age pictogrammes are on the front and back of the game packaging and show one of the following categories: 3, 7, 12, 16 and 18. Just like Kijkwijzer, PEGI also shows content pictogrammes which explain the most important reason for that specific rating. These pictogrammes are show on the back of the game packaging.

The Kijkwijzer system is based on scientific knowledge of the potential harm images can do, which makes the classifications more objective and increases their applicability. The Kijkwijzer system is flexible, follows new scientific insights and responds to new developments in media supply. The experts working on this are closely involved with the subject and are the cream of their field in The Netherlands.

Kijkwijzer is not a recommendation in terms of suitability, quality or good taste. This is not the role NICAM has been allocated by the government. So in the classification the skills or level of difficulty for istance, to be able to play a game or understand a feature film are not taken into account.

If you don't agree with a classification you can file a complaint. Complaints are always first processed at NICAM`s office. If a possible breach of the Kijkwijzer rules is ascertained, the complaint is then forwarded to the independent NICAM Complaints Committee. In all cases, you will receive a reply to your complaint with grounds, even if the complaint is not taken further by the Complaints Committee.

The Kijkwijzer and PEGI age categories also have a legal aspect. This is laid down in Article 240a of the Criminal Code. By virtue of this article, a cinema operator is committing a criminal offence if s/he allows a person younger than 16 years to view a film with the age classification 16 years. Video rental shops and shops are also covered by this law: they may not sell or rent out dvd's or games with an age classification of 16 years to persons under the age of 16.

In the case of television, the Kijkwijzer ages are linked to broadcast slots. Programmes with the classification All Ages, 6 and 9 years may be broadcast at any time of the day. Programmes with the classification 12 years may only be broadcast from 20.00 hours and with the classification 16 years from 22.00 hours (until 6.00 hours).

NICAM almost covers the entire cinema and television sector. A small section of the DVD market is not covered, however. Partly because a small number of distributors are not affiliated to NICAM or the industry organisation and partly because of parallel imports from outside of the Netherlands. NICAM has no instruments at its disposal to force companies to affiliate and has already pointed this out to the government and asked for support.

Every game that is released for the Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony consoles get a PEGI classification. Just like every pc game from the biggest European and American publishers. That is why it is rare that games are sold without a PEGI rating.

Right from the start, the wishes and opinions of parents have guided the realisation and development of the system. After all, the system can only succeed if it fullfils the users’ requirements. Parents’ opinions were constantly ascertained by means of consumer research. Parents expressed a desire to be informed of the content of media products, particularly in relation to violence, frightening scenes, sex, discrimination, drug abuse and strong language, as these were the areas about which they were most concerned. Parents were also involved in the implementation of Kijkwijzer through the independent advisory committee.

Every other year the opinion of parents about the Kijkwijzer system is surveyed.
This userbased research is very important to Kijkwijzer. In previous surveys, more than 90% of parents stated that they make use of Kijkwijzer when choosing cinema films, dvd's and television programmes. Nine out of ten parents also consider the Kijkwijzer recommendations to be reliable, and two-thirds of them are always or often in agreement with the age recommendations.

International comparisons made by independent foreign institutions, such as the European Commission and the German classification institute FSF, show that the Kijkwijzer classifications are at a comparable level to those in England, Germany, Scandinavia and Austria, and in a number of cases are in fact even stricter.

Kijkwijzer was introduced in the dvd sector on January 1st 2002. Sometimes, older productions without Kijkwijzer, or with a different pictogramme, can still be found in video (rental) shops or libraries. Sometimes, the pictogrammes are missing because a distributor does not wish to affiliate to Kijkwijzer or because it is a parallel import, without a distributor in the Netherlands being involved. NICAM is consulting with the government on this undesirable situation.

Music video broadcasters in the Netherlands use Kijkwijzer, just like the other TV channels. All music videos are assessed using the Kijkwijzer classification system and are allocated a recommended age category. This recommended age category is associated with a broadcast time. This means that, for example, a video with the recommended age category 12 years cannot be broadcast before 20.00 hours and, and one with the recommended age category 16 years cannot be broadcast before 22.00 hours. The music video broadcasters adhere to this and do not broadcast these videos during the day. NICAM seldom receives complaints about this. Unlike with ordinary TV programmes, the Kijkwijzer recommended ages and pictogrammes are not displayed with the videos. This would not be practical owing to the short duration of the videos. In actual fact, the Netherlands is the only country worldwide in which music videos are structurally assessed.

First and foremost, it is the consumers themselves who supervise the correct implementation of Kijkwijzer. If they are not in agreement with a classification or have any other complaints, they can contact NICAM’s independent Complaints Committee. Those who breach the rules risk sanctions up to a maximum of €135,000.
The government has recognised NICAM on the basis of an article in the Media Act. The Media Authority supervises the implementation of Kijkwijzer on behalf of the government. The Authority reports to the Cabinet annually.
The government has carried out intensive testing and evaluation of NICAM and Kijkwijzer during recent years. As part of this, in December 2005 the report ‘Wiser Viewing’ (Dutch: ‘Wijzer Kijken’) by the Committee on Youth, Media and Violence appeared. This committee, established by the Cabinet, issued a positive endorsement of NICAM.
In the opinion of the audiovisual sectors cooperating within NICAM, the protection of children against harmful film and television productions is in the interest of society in general. Along with the Committee on Youth, Media and Violence and the European Commission, NICAM considers it of importance that the government remains involved in the implementation of Kijkwijzer.