Issues of content rating system on Russian TV channels

The article presents the results of an empirical study conducted in January-February 2018, aimed to reveal how Russian television channels are implementing the requirements of the law “On Protection of Children against Information Detrimental to Their Health and Development”. We conducted a review of more than 45,000 broadcasting elements (TV programs, movies, serials, cartoons, etc.), which were aired in early 2018. It turned out that more than half of them did not have any age rating information; also TV channels often used the “16+” mark, although broadcasting elements with it in the interval from 7 AM to 21 PM is a violation of the law; while broadcasting programs rated as “18+” was without any violations. The obtained results allow us to draw a conclusion that this law needs to be improved and the professional training should be held for its competent use in the broadcasting.