ESRB: Utah Violent Game Bill will deprive parents of control
Although the bill to expand the Truth in Advertising Law was passed by the Utah House, it’s being met by resistance by some groups, and even the ESRB‘s president urges against it, appealing to parents and leaders in Utah by way of an open letter.
Details after the link.
Although the bill to expand the Truth in Advertising Law was passed by the Utah House, it’s being met by resistance by some groups, and even the ESRB‘s president Patricia Vance urges against it.
As a brief background, the bill will require retailers and movie theaters that advertise that they don’t sell M-rated games games or R-rated movie tickets to underage buyers and then do so will be fined US$ 2,000.
Now the main argument here is that retailers enforce the ESRB ratings voluntarily. A vast majority, that is, 96%, comply with the ratings without any laws that say they have to do so. The point of Vance is that if this Bill is signed into law, trust with retailers might be damaged and some may even consider abandoning the ratings education program altogether.
And since the Truth in Advertising expansion bill will only prosecute retailers who actually advertise compliance with the ESRB, they won’t be charged if they just stop advertising that they do. Vance made this point in an open letter to parents and leaders in Utah, which you can read in its entirety after the source link. Here are some excerpts:
According to a recent audit, Utah video game retailers enforce their store policies regarding the sale of M-rated games an impressive 94% of the time – without any laws or requirements that they do so. That level of compliance took many years to achieve, and speaks to the strong commitment of video game retailers to do the right thing.
The unraveling of this substantial progress would be a tragic consequence, depriving parents of the assurance and control they currently have with respect to deciding which games their children can purchase and play.
[The bill] would effectively penalize responsible retailers that have policies, and provide safe harbor for retailers that refuse to adopt a responsible policy in the first place. That is downright senseless.
If the goal is to make sure our children are playing age-appropriate games, there is a better way. […] The bottom line is that parents are more than capable of utilizing tools like the ratings to make the right choices for their families.
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Via Kotaku