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http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/action/gta4/news_6140535.html
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This afternoon, Clinton's office announced she has written a bill that
would institute federal regulation of games sales. Co-authored by
longtime game critic Senator Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), the Family
Entertainment Protection Act will be jointly submitted by the two
legislators when Congress reconvenes in two weeks.
If made law, the Family Entertainment Protection Act would be a "a
prohibition against any business for selling or renting a Mature,
Adults-Only, or Ratings Pending game to a person who is younger than
seventeen." It would punish violators with unspecified fines, though it
did not specify if the clerk who sold the game or the retailer where
said clerk worked would be punished. "This provision is not aimed at
punishing retailers who act in good faith to enforce the Entertainment
Software Ratings Board (ESRB) system," read a statement from Clinton's
office.
While the retail part of the bill is similar to laws recently passed in
Michigan, Illinois, and California, the Family Entertainment Protection
Act goes much farther. It would authorize "the FTC to conduct an
annual, random audit of retailers to determine how easy it is for young
people to purchase Mature and Adults Only video games and report the
findings to Congress." These findings would be part of a larger annual
analysis of ESRB game ratings. "This analysis will help ensure that the
ESRB ratings system accurately reflects the content in each game and
that the ratings system does not change significantly over time," read
Clinton's statement.
The bill would also allow private citizens to file complaints with the
FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection (BCP) "if they find content to be
misleading or deceptive." The BCP would issue an annual report on said
complaints to Congress as part of the aforementioned annual review.
As justification for the act, Clinton's office claims that "video game
content is getting more and more violent and sexually explicit." It
cites the recent 10th Annual MediaWise Video and Computer Game Report
Card, issued by the National Institute on Media and the Family, which
gave the industry a "D+" and said the ESRB was "beyond repair." Also,
the study's secret shopper program found that 42 percent of the time
boys under 17 were able to buy M-rated games from retailers, with
underage girls succeeding 46 percent of the time.
"A majority of parents are feeling increasingly victimized by a culture
of violence that makes it difficult to protect their children against
influences they find to be inappropriate," read Clinton's statement.
"This bill would help empower parents by putting them back in the
driver's seat. It would ensure that children can't buy games the video
game industry itself has determined to be inappropriate for them."
Despite the strong language, Clinton underlined the fact the Family
Entertainment Protection Act would not directly censor games. "Senator
Clinton acknowledges that video games are fun and entertaining and does
not support any limitations on the production or sale of games to
adults," read the statement. "This is about protecting children," she
said.
That said, one aspect of the act will undoubtedly send shivers through
the industry. Not only will Section III of the bill give the FTC the
authority to investigate misleading ratings, it will actually require
the body "to conduct an investigation to determine whether what
happened with GTA: San Andreas is a pervasive problem."
An even more ominous-sounding aspect of Section III is how it will
empower the FTC to "take appropriate action if [Congress] determines
that there is a pervasive problem" with the ESRB's rating system. This
means a new, federal game ratings which could replace the current
system if sufficient fault was found by the FTC.
..........................................................
UGH!
...................................................
This afternoon, Clinton's office announced she has written a bill that
would institute federal regulation of games sales. Co-authored by
longtime game critic Senator Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), the Family
Entertainment Protection Act will be jointly submitted by the two
legislators when Congress reconvenes in two weeks.
If made law, the Family Entertainment Protection Act would be a "a
prohibition against any business for selling or renting a Mature,
Adults-Only, or Ratings Pending game to a person who is younger than
seventeen." It would punish violators with unspecified fines, though it
did not specify if the clerk who sold the game or the retailer where
said clerk worked would be punished. "This provision is not aimed at
punishing retailers who act in good faith to enforce the Entertainment
Software Ratings Board (ESRB) system," read a statement from Clinton's
office.
While the retail part of the bill is similar to laws recently passed in
Michigan, Illinois, and California, the Family Entertainment Protection
Act goes much farther. It would authorize "the FTC to conduct an
annual, random audit of retailers to determine how easy it is for young
people to purchase Mature and Adults Only video games and report the
findings to Congress." These findings would be part of a larger annual
analysis of ESRB game ratings. "This analysis will help ensure that the
ESRB ratings system accurately reflects the content in each game and
that the ratings system does not change significantly over time," read
Clinton's statement.
The bill would also allow private citizens to file complaints with the
FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection (BCP) "if they find content to be
misleading or deceptive." The BCP would issue an annual report on said
complaints to Congress as part of the aforementioned annual review.
As justification for the act, Clinton's office claims that "video game
content is getting more and more violent and sexually explicit." It
cites the recent 10th Annual MediaWise Video and Computer Game Report
Card, issued by the National Institute on Media and the Family, which
gave the industry a "D+" and said the ESRB was "beyond repair." Also,
the study's secret shopper program found that 42 percent of the time
boys under 17 were able to buy M-rated games from retailers, with
underage girls succeeding 46 percent of the time.
"A majority of parents are feeling increasingly victimized by a culture
of violence that makes it difficult to protect their children against
influences they find to be inappropriate," read Clinton's statement.
"This bill would help empower parents by putting them back in the
driver's seat. It would ensure that children can't buy games the video
game industry itself has determined to be inappropriate for them."
Despite the strong language, Clinton underlined the fact the Family
Entertainment Protection Act would not directly censor games. "Senator
Clinton acknowledges that video games are fun and entertaining and does
not support any limitations on the production or sale of games to
adults," read the statement. "This is about protecting children," she
said.
That said, one aspect of the act will undoubtedly send shivers through
the industry. Not only will Section III of the bill give the FTC the
authority to investigate misleading ratings, it will actually require
the body "to conduct an investigation to determine whether what
happened with GTA: San Andreas is a pervasive problem."
An even more ominous-sounding aspect of Section III is how it will
empower the FTC to "take appropriate action if [Congress] determines
that there is a pervasive problem" with the ESRB's rating system. This
means a new, federal game ratings which could replace the current
system if sufficient fault was found by the FTC.
..........................................................
UGH!