State Issues
Video games are fully protected speech under the Constitution, and receive the same First Amendment protection as books, movies, music and television programs. The ESA is opposed to legislation that would treat video games differently than other First Amendment-protected works and that would regulate the content of video games in any form or restrict access to video games.While the vast majority of computer and video games are appropriate for all ages and the majority of frequent game players are adults, the industry has long recognized that some products contain content that may not be appropriate for younger audiences. In an effort to ensure that inappropriate games do not make it into the hands of children, the ESA created the Entertainment Software Rating Board in 1994. This voluntary rating system provides consumers with information about the age appropriateness and content of entertainment software. The ESRB rating system is supported by retailers, opinion leaders and parents.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has lauded the ESRB for having the most successful rating system for any entertainment medium in the country. A recent FTC report shows that over 80 percent of parents are aware of the ESRB system, and over 70 percent of parents use it in making their buying decisions. And the Kaiser Family Foundation released a national survey of parents that found the ESRB ratings system to be the most useful of all the entertainment ratings systems. For more information about parents' influence on computer and video game purchase decisions, please click here.
The ESRB also works with retailers who sell video games to display information about the ratings system and to encourage and support the enforcement of store policies not to sell "M"-rated games to customers under 17. A May 2008 FTC report revealed that only 20 percent of the agency’s undercover underage shoppers were able to buy “M”-rated video games, 65 percent less than in 2000.
For facts and research about video games and violence, please click here.
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