Game Rating Regulation Bill Intro’d in Congress

Law would Require ID Check for M or AO Games

Several attempts to limit the sale of “violent” games to children have thus far been only at the state level–and every time a state, appellate, or higher court has held that those bills are a violation of First Amendment free speech protection.

Now, it’s deja vu all over again…at the federal level.

Yesterday the Video Game Ratings Enforcement Act was introduced in the US House. Its sponsors, Rep. Jim Matheson, a Utah Democrat, and Republican Rep. Lee Terry of Nebraska, not only want the IDs of minors–and perhaps those who look like minors–checked when an M or AO rated game is brought to the counter, they want retailers to better explain the ESRB system.

The bill’s introduction, according to CNet, came just before the Federal Trade Commission revealed that the number of minors getting away with buying such classified titles has gone down in this decade. Only 20 percent can get away with it now, compared with 85 percent in 2000, the study found.

Furthermore, many retail chains are already practicing what this bill preaches. Many large stores carry posters or other prominent materials that explain what the ESRB ratings mean, and those same retailers already check IDs.

So what’s the problem with a law with rules many already follow?

Electronic Software Association president Michael Gallagher says this bill, like many others at the state level, won’t pass court muster. “Empowering parents, not enacting unconstitutional legislation, is the best way to control the games children play,” he said.

Given more important things Congress must be focusing on, this bill can easily die on the House floor. However, if it doesn’t, and this gets ugly, we’ll cover every step of the drama.