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Press Contact:
Alyson Heyrend
Communications Director
240 East Morris Ave. #235
South Salt Lake, UT 84115
(801) 486-1236 (phone)
(801) 455-5593 (cell)
(801) 486-1417 (fax)
Matheson, Terry Bill Helps Shield Kids from Adult-rated Video Games
Washington, D.C.—Utah Congressman Jim Matheson and Nebraska Congressman Lee Terry today unveiled their bipartisan bill requiring retailers to check identification in order to keep inappropriate video games from being sold to children.
“Too many children are spending too much time playing inappropriate video games that most parents would find shocking and objectionable,” said Matheson. “As a parent, I know that I’m the first line of defense against my kids playing Mature-rated video games. But parents can’t be everywhere monitoring everything and some reasonable, common sense rules ought to be in place to back parents up.”
According to the 2007 Video Game Report Card from the National Institute on Media and the Family, nine out of 10 kids (86%) ages 8 to 16 play video games in their homes. While citing progress in some areas, the report card also notes “complacency, especially on the part of retailers and parents, appears to have caused a backslide in ratings awareness and enforcement.” The entire report card is available at http://www.mediafamily.org/research/index.shtml
Matheson said the legislation requires all retailers to check ID from any child trying to buy or rent Mature (M)-rated or Adult-Only (AO) rated games. He said the bill does not prevent a parent from buying any available game, but it does help to ensure that children can only access age appropriate content without parental permission. A 2005 Federal Trade Commission report found that 42 % of unaccompanied 13-16 year-olds in the study were able to purchase “M” rated games from retailers, even though the M-rating is for those 17 and older.
“The images and themes in some video games are shocking and troublesome. In some games high scores are often earned by players who commit “virtual” murder, assault and rape. Many young children are walking into stores and are able to buy or rent these games without their parents even knowing about it,” said Terry. “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.”
Matheson and Terry said that while most video games are labeled with a rating (determined by an industry-ratings panel known as the Entertainment Software Ratings Board—ESRB), more awareness of what the ratings mean is needed.
The MediaWise-Harris Interactive Poll shows that 72% of parents understand little or nothing about video game ratings. This despite a public service announcement campaign by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) and ratings disclaimers in television ads by game makers.
The Matheson-Terry bill requires that ratings system explanations be posted in stores so that parents can make informed decisions before purchasing or renting a game for their children.
“The good news is that some retailers and some video game rental stores have policies in place to enforce the ratings and help educate consumers. For the rest, this bill sends the signal that putting profits ahead of the well-being of children and the standards of their parents is not acceptable,” said Matheson.
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