Common Sense Media recently asked the 2008 presidential hopefuls about their thoughts on and plans for future video game legislation
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney replied in an unsurprising tone, saying, "We get serious against those retailers that sell adult video games that are filled with violence and that we go after those retailers." Romney has long positioned himself as an opponent of mature-themed video game content.
John Edwards, Barack Obama, and Bill Richardson were all a bit less rash in their decisions, and would rather allow the industry to police itself.
Hillary Clinton came late to the party, but has finally given an answer to Common Sense Media’s survey. In truly verbose fashion, she states:
When I introduced the Family Entertainment Protection Act [FEPA] two years ago, I did so because I felt that video game content was getting increasingly violent and sexually explicit, yet young people were able to purchase these games with relative ease while their parents were struggling to keep up with being informed about the content.
On-site store managers would be subject to a fine of $1,000 or 100 hours of community service for the first offense and $5,000 or 500 hours of community service for each subsequent offense.
The bill would also require an annual, independent analysis of game ratings and require the FTC to conduct an investigation to determine whether hidden sexual content like what was in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a pervasive problem and to take appropriate action…
Finally, the bill would authorize the FTC to conduct an annual, random audit of retailers to monitor enforcement and report the findings to Congress.
I was motivated to take action when I found out that there was embedded illicit sexual content in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The [ESRB] was unaware of the embedded content. I called on the FTC to investigate the source of the content and, as a result, the company issued a recall of the game.
When I am president, I will work to protect children from inappropriate video game content.
Research has shown that violent and sexually explicit media contribute to aggressive behavior, early sexual experimentation, obesity, and depression.
Whenever I meet young parents… they tell me that they are worried about losing control over the raising of their own children and about ceding the responsibility of implicating values and behaviors to a multi-dimensional media marketplace over which they have no control…
Studies have found that exposure to TV violence can increase the risk of aggressive behavior in children and may be related to attention problems later in life. And some experts say that time spent watching too much TV or surfing the Internet or playing video games may detract from the time children spend interacting with their parents, participating in physical activity, or using their imaginations.
