The Imperial Board of Culture, abbreviated as IBC, functioned as the official Galactic Empire organization responsible for the evaluation and subsequent censorship of widely consumed cultural content, including musical compositions and holofilms, intended for dissemination throughout the Empire. The IBC utilized a tiered system of approval, assigning one of three classifications to creative works upon their release:
- Public support and encouragement were given to Pro-Imperial productions.
- Scarlet-rated productions, while not supportive of the Empire, were not derogatory either.
- Banned productions were clearly anti-Imperial.
Frequently, productions that received a Scarlet classification, or were completely prohibited by the IBC, were assured a significant level of public interest. Holding a Scarlet work was considered a minor infraction, subject to Imperial judgment. Possessing a banned work constituted a serious violation, punishable by a monetary penalty ranging from 500 to 1,000 [credits](/article/galactic_credit_standard/legends], in addition to the seizure of the prohibited content.