Long considered an area of contention in the United States, the sale of adult-themed videogames to minors could be on the cusp of being addressed with a much firmer hand should a new bipartisan bill introduced into the House on Wednesday be carried through into law.
US bill looks to force videogame retailers into mandatory age checks. Image: FoundPhotosLJ/Flickr.
Specifically, Republican representative Lee Terry (Neb) and Democratic representative Jim Matheson (Utah) have put forward a bill that would make it mandatory conduct for retailers to view consumer identification before handing over videogames classified on their packaging as M for Mature (M) or Adults Only (AO) by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB).
“The images and themes in some videogames are shocking and troublesome. In some games high scores are often earned by players who commit ‘virtual’ murder, assault and rape,” Terry outlined in a Variety report on the new Video Games Rating Enforcement Act.
“Many young children are walking into stores and are able to buy or rent these games without their parents even knowing about it,” he added. “Many retailers have tried to develop voluntary policies to make sure mature games do not end up in the hands of young kids, but we need to do more to protect our children.”
If the bill is passed, it would require that all videogame retail outlets in the United States perform identification approval for every ‘M’ or ‘AO’ software title brought to the checkout. And, in an effort to better inform parents as to what their children are looking to carry from the store, retailers would also need to grant in-store placement of ESRB age ratings explanations.
In terms of punishment for failing to adhere to those requirements, retailers would be hit with a $5,000 USD fine for every violation.
And urgent action is certainly required according to Dan Issett, public policy director of the Parents Television Council, which is supporting the bill.
Issett notes that a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) study has recently revealed that more than 40 percent of underage children were able to successfully purchase an ‘M for Mature’ videogame title even though the gaming industry and its retailers insist there are effective safeguards in place to prevent such sales.
However, running against Issett’s numbers, the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA), which represents videogame retailers, has this week said that the FTC’s latest “undercover shopper” survey shows “significant progress” in enforcing the ESRB’s printed age ratings.
Indeed, according to the FTC survey, underage children sent into stores to purchase an ‘M for Mature’ software title were refused a sale by staff 80 percent of the time, which is a year-on-year success rate jump of 58 percent when measured against 2007’s survey.
While conceding that the 20 percent failure rate does show that retailers are still “not where they want to be as an industry,” EMA president Bo Anderson outlined the association’s satisfaction “with the progress that has been made in ratings enforcement,” while also maintaining that the EMA will continue to work with its members to increase effectiveness levels.
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