Hill Proposes Gaming Bill
New Federal Law Banning Sale of M-Rated Games Proposed
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Senators Hillary Clinton and Joe Lieberman have drafted a new federal bill, the Family Entertainment Protection Act, that will be shown to Congress in two weeks time. Following numerous anti-gaming bills drafted by local governments, the federal bill also hopes to ban the sale of M-rated games to minors. Even though the bill plans to keep the ESRB as the industry's watchdog it is already being strongly opposed.
The New York Democratic Senator stated: "I have developed legislation that will empower parents by making sure their kids can’t walk into a store and buy a video game that has graphic, violent and pornographic content. This is about protecting children."
Liebermann commented that, "There is a growing body of evidence that points to a link between violent videos and aggressive behaviour in children. We are not interested in censoring videos meant for adult entertainment but we do want to ensure that these videos are not purchased by minors. Our bill will help accomplish this by imposing fines on those retailers that sell M-rated games to minors."
The bill has five parts:
Prohibition on Selling Mature and Adults Only video games to minors
Annual Analysis of the ESRB ratings system
Federal Trade Commission investigation of misleading ratings
Registration of complaints
Annual Retailer Audit
ESA president, Doug Lowenstein, has already responded to the bill, stating: "While we are gratified that the Senator holds the ESRB in such high regard that her bill would give these ratings the force of law, the courts have made clear that giving a private party governmental powers is unconstitutional."
"Beyond that, the bill clearly infringes the constitutionally protected creative rights of the video game industry. Thus, if enacted, the bill will be struck down as have similar bills passed in several states. So while this bill is positioned as a pro-family measure, in truth it will leave parents no better off," Lowenstein added.
Source: GamesIndustry Article
The New York Democratic Senator stated: "I have developed legislation that will empower parents by making sure their kids can’t walk into a store and buy a video game that has graphic, violent and pornographic content. This is about protecting children."
Liebermann commented that, "There is a growing body of evidence that points to a link between violent videos and aggressive behaviour in children. We are not interested in censoring videos meant for adult entertainment but we do want to ensure that these videos are not purchased by minors. Our bill will help accomplish this by imposing fines on those retailers that sell M-rated games to minors."
The bill has five parts:
Prohibition on Selling Mature and Adults Only video games to minors
Annual Analysis of the ESRB ratings system
Federal Trade Commission investigation of misleading ratings
Registration of complaints
Annual Retailer Audit
ESA president, Doug Lowenstein, has already responded to the bill, stating: "While we are gratified that the Senator holds the ESRB in such high regard that her bill would give these ratings the force of law, the courts have made clear that giving a private party governmental powers is unconstitutional."
"Beyond that, the bill clearly infringes the constitutionally protected creative rights of the video game industry. Thus, if enacted, the bill will be struck down as have similar bills passed in several states. So while this bill is positioned as a pro-family measure, in truth it will leave parents no better off," Lowenstein added.
Source: GamesIndustry Article
