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Senators Propose Federal Ban on Sales of Violent Video Games to Minors

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 19, 2005 - 8:09am.
Washington - Democratic Senators Hillary Clinton, Joe Lieberman and Evan Bayh on Friday introduced the Family Entertainment Protection Act, which would create a federal ban on the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors. "Video games are hot holiday items, and there are certainly wonderful games that help our children learn and increase hand and eye coordination. However, there are also games that are just not appropriate for our nation's youth," said Senator Clinton. "This bill will help 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." The bill calls for a $1,000 fine or 100 hours of community service for a retailer's first offense, and $5,000 or 500 hours for each subsequent offense. It would also require an annual, independent analysis of game ratings; an annual undercover audit of retailers to determine compliance; the creation of a complaint filing mechanism; and an FTC investigation into "hidden content," like the "Hot Coffee" sexually explicit mini-game found in copies of "Grand Theft Auto" that were taken off store shelves earlier this year. The bill comes as similar statewide and local bans are routinely being struck down by the courts as unconstitutional restrictions on First Amendment free speech protections, although the Supreme Court has not weighed in on the issue. A federal judge earlier this month blocked enactment of an Illinois state video game sales ban; Washington's ban has also been overturned. The video game industry is additionally battling video game sales bans recently enacted in Michigan and California in the courts.
tags: Law | Minors | Senators | Violent Video Games |

Senators Want Federal Ban on Sale of Mature-Rated Video Games to Minors

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 30, 2005 - 9:28am.
Washington - Senators Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) announced on Wednesday that they plan to introduce legislation that would outlaw the sale of "Mature"-rated video games to minors nationwide. The "Family Entertainment Protection Act" also calls for a Federal Trade Commission investigation into "misleading" game ratings; an annual analysis of the ratings system; the authority for consumers to register complaints; and annual sting operations on retailers to determine compliance. "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," said Senator Clinton, who said impetus for the legislation came from the recent "Grand Theft Auto" "Hot Coffee" sex mini-game scandal, and a report issued on Wednesday by the National Institute on Media and the Family that found minors were able to purchase Mature-rated games 42% of the time. However, such bans on the sale of video games have been ruled unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds three times; similar bans recently enacted in California, Illinois and Michigan are also the target of game industry lawsuits. Hal Halpin, president of the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association, a trade group of video game retailers, said in a statement that his group had "committed voluntarily to a self-regulatory enforcement system substantially similar to the motion picture business, which the very same legislators hold up as the 'Gold Standard'." Senator Clinton said she plans to introduce the bill when the Senate reconvenes in two weeks.
tags: Minors | Video Games | Senators | Federal Ban |

Dem. Senators Propose 25% Internet Porn Tax to Protect c

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 2, 2005 - 6:51am.
Washington -- Several Democratic Senators have co-sponsored a bill that would levy a 25% tax on pornographic website revenue, with the proceeds to be spent on protecting children from Internet pornography. Introduced by Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), the Internet Safety and Child Protection Act of 2005 is also supported by Democratic Senators including Evan Bayh and Joe Lieberman. "Our children can literally stumble into adult Web sites that are inappropriate for their viewing," Sen. Mary Landrieu, (D-La.), another of the bill's sponsors, told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "As parents, it is our responsibility to protect our children -- and no longer does protecting our children mean only holding their hand while crossing the street." Similar taxes and efforts to censor Internet content have largely been thrown out by the courts. "The general principle is that if you can't ban a certain category of expression, then you cannot selectively impose a tax on it," Jamin Raskin, a professor of constitutional law at American University, told CNET News.com. "The bottom line is, if it were constitutional to tax a disfavored category of speaker, then there would be 99 percent taxes on pornography and hate speakers and Howard Stern and so on."
tags: Senators | Dem | Internet Porn Tax |

Senators Ask File-Sharing Services to Self-Regulate, Filter Illicit Content

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 24, 2003 - 7:07am.
Washington -- A group of six U.S. Senators has written the heads of the major file-sharing software firms, asking them to self-regulate by providing warnings to their users on the risks of file-sharing software, installing filters for copyrighted and pornographic material, and altering the default settings on their programs so that users don't automatically share files on their PCs with others, CNET News.com reported. Firms including Grokster, BearShare, Blubster, eDonkey2000, LimeWire and Streamcast Networks received the letter, which was sent by a group of lawmakers including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-N.C.) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D.-Calif.). "Purveyors of peer-to-peer technology have a legal and moral obligation to conform to copyright laws, and end the pornographic trade over these networks," Sen. Graham said in a statement. "These programs expose our children to sexually explicit materials and provide an anonymous venue for child pornographers to hide behind the veil of technology."
tags: File-Sharing | Senators | Self-Regulate | Filter Illicit |