Laws of Play

Video Games Ratings Enforcement Act Redux

Variety and ABC News report that Representatives Lee Terry (R-Neb.) and Jim Matheson (D-Utah) introduced the “Video Games Ratings Enforcement Act” to the House floor today. The bill, H.R. 5990, was subsequently referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Substantively, H.R. 5990 mandates that retailers perform ID checks on purchasers of ESRB-rated “Mature” and “Adults Only” games. Retailers caught violating the bill face a $5,000 penalty, enforceable by the FTC.

Reactions to the proposed legislation have been mixed. Chris Anderson, owner of the Alexandria, VA Play N Trade store, said that he follows the Entertainment Software Association’s rules and will not sell any M-rated games to kids under seventeen. When asked if the Video Games Ratings Enforcement Act would affect his business, Anderson said:

It really wouldn’t change our life at all. It’s just a way for a politician to make a name for themselves.

However, school psychologist Sunny Cote has a different opinion of the legislation:

If they make it up to the store clerks or whatever, they’re more likely to wanna push their product and sell it to get dollars. So I think federal legislation would be a good thing.

This is not the first time Rep. Matheson has proposed such a bill. In May 2006, during the second session of 109th Congress, Matheson proposed H.R. 5345, also titled the “Video Games Ratings Enforcement Act.” This bill eventually fizzled out in the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. Until the Library of Congress posts the full text of the new bill, it is unclear whether the text is substantially the same.

Although several states have had similar laws struck down on First Amendment grounds, Rep. Terry believes H.R. 5990 could pass constitutional muster:

This bill doesn’t involve itself in content or defining the standards for ‘mature’ or ‘adults only,’ … [i]t simply requires the retailer to post what the industry has defined as ‘mature’ and ‘adults only’ so that parents can know, and requires checking of identification.