Video Game Decency Act

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Video Game Decency Act of 2007 (H.R. 1531) was a failed proposed piece of

bill was reintroduced into the 110th Congress
as H.R. 1531 in March 2007, but died in committee later that year.

The stated aim of the proposed legislation was to "prohibit deceptive acts and practices in the content rating and labeling of video games".

Mature 17+" rating. According to the ESRB, games with this rating have "content that is generally suitable for ages 17 and up and may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content, strong language, drug use, and nudity."[4]

"Upton introduced the legislation with the assistance of Illinois Democrat, representative

Adults Only" rating. As a result of this incident, Fred Upton later proposed the Video Game Decency Act, which would, pending an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission
, punish any video game producer found guilty of deliberately deceiving rating organizations.

Before and during the events leading up to this proposed legislation, the video game industry experienced a significant boom in revenue with the creation of online games. "It grew the gaming industry from tens of billions to hundreds of billions in revenue".[6] Video games began to influence not only pop culture but also the economy. Therefore, it was not surprising that lawmakers sought to implement more regulations. They were not alone; many people, particularly parents, were concerned about the video game content their children were consuming and also called for more regulation. Congressman Upton hoped to capitalize on this sentiment commenting, “This legislation will restore parents’ trust in a system in which game makers had previously done an end-run around the process to deliver violent and pornographic material to our kids".[5]

References

  1. ^ "Video Game Decency Act of 2006 Introduced To Senate". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 2006-10-18. Retrieved 29 September 2006.
  2. ^ "Michigan Congressman Proposes "Video Game Deceny Act"". GamePolitics.com. 29 September 2006. Archived from the original on 18 December 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
  3. ^ "H. R. 6120 - To prohibit deceptive acts and practices in the content rating and labeling of video games" (PDF). Fred Upton. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-03-03. Retrieved 29 September 2006.
  4. ^ "ESRB Ratings Guides, Categories, Content Descriptors". ESRB Ratings. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  5. ^ a b "Video Game Decency Act of 2006 Introduced To Senate". www.gamedeveloper.com. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  6. ^ Wallach, Omri (November 27, 2020). "World Economic Forum". The History of the Gaming Industry in one chart. Retrieved April 18, 2024.