Videogame Industry Slams Family Entertainment Protection Act
The videogame industry criticized the Family Entertainment Protection Act after Sens. Bayh (D-Ind.), Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Lieberman (D-Conn.) introduced the legislation Fri. The bill would make it illegal to rent or sell Mature (M), Adults Only (AO) or even Ratings Pending videogames to kids under 17.
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The VSDA, Entertainment Software Assn. (ESA) and Interactive Entertainment Merchants Assn. (IEMA) first said late last month they opposed the bill when Clinton and Lieberman proposed it (CED Dec 1 p11). Bayh later announced his support for the legislation (CED Dec 5 p10).
ESA Pres. Douglas Lowenstein said his group shares the senators’ “commitment to effective enforcement of the Entertainment Software Rating Board [ESRB] ratings by retailers.” But he said “we strongly oppose this bill” because “it is unconstitutional and, more importantly, it is unnecessary” because retailers voluntarily enforce the ratings. Noting that federal courts in Mich. and Ill. had recently “issued preliminary and permanent injunctions barring implementation of similar laws in those states,” Lowenstein predicted that, if enacted, the Family Entertainment Protection Act “will be struck down” as well.
IEMA Pres. Hal Halpin echoed Lowenstein Mon. and said that “to advance a bill in the face of pre-destined failure can, at its worst, be viewed as political opportunism and at its best a futile effort to treat videogames in a similar manner as alcohol, tobacco and firearms rather than the entertainment art form which it is.” He also said it was “disheartening to think that legislators believe their constituents to have the facilities to properly buy music and movies for their children but lack the ability to purchase appropriate games.” The VSDA said that “if legislators truly want to help parents keep certain videogames away from their children, they should work with retailers to help educate parents about the videogame rating system and to promote voluntary ratings enforcement.”
Introducing the bill, the Senators disclosed the provisions in detail. “On-site store managers” would be subject to a $1,000 fine or 100 hours of community service the first time a store violates the law and a $5,000 fine or 500 hours of community service for each subsequent offense. The Senators said retailers “would have an affirmative defense if they were shown an identification they believed to be valid or have a system in place to display and enforce the ESRB system.” The Act also calls for an annual, independent analysis of game ratings, gives the FTC authority to investigate misleading ratings, requires the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection (BCP) to ensure consumers can file complaints if they find content to be “misleading or deceptive” and requires BCP to report the number of such complaints to Congress, and calls for an annual FTC retailer audit through random secret shopper surveys. The senators said “part of the genesis of the bill was the revelation” that Take-Two Interactive included hidden, sexually explicit content in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.