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General: New York Lawmakers Question ESRB
Stradden
Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696
NY State lawmakers have introduced a bill aimed at cracking down on video game violence. They hope to do this by reducing children's exposure to violence thorugh the education of their parents, examining the current ESRB rating system, and introducing a new rating system.
Opponents say the bill would undermine current efforts by the ESRB, and question some of the facts in the press release as Senator Lanza mentioned V-Tech Rampage as a rallying call, even though the non-retail, amateur-made game would not be covered by the new law.
SENATE PASSES LEGISLATION TO CRACK DOWN ON VIDEO GAME VIOLENCE
Bill Would Establish Advisory Council On Interactive Media and Youth Violence
The New York State Senate today passed legislation, sponsored by Senator Andrew Lanza (R-I, Staten Island), that would take steps to crack down on video game violence, and combat and reduce children's exposure to violent and inappropriate materials within these games.
The bill (S.5888) would establish the Advisory Council on Interactive Media and Youth Violence to review the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) rating system and its effectiveness, and recommend additional steps that can be taken to curb children's access and exposure to such "adult-only" material. The advisory council would consist of nine members and six ex-officio members.
The bill would also require New York State's retailers to place ratings labels on all video games, and establish a Parent-Teacher Anti-Violence Awareness Program to work with students and children on issues related to violence in video games and seek to increase awareness of the ratings system on games.
"The recent release of 'V-Tech Massacre,' a sick game which exploits the Virginia Tech University tragedy, is a painful reminder of the culture of violence which has severe consequences on our youth and society," said Senator Lanza, Chairman of the Senate Task Force on Youth Violence and the Entertainment Industry. "The emotions and behaviors of our children are far too often shaped by the virtual reality of violent movies and video games. It is imperative that we find a way to prevent these virtual realities from continuing to fuel and teach the violent behavior which is corrupting our youth. My bill will provide parents with important information about violent video games so they are better able to make informed decisions."
"Everywhere we look, violence surrounds us and it is unfortunate that our children are exposed to this explicit material, whether found in video games, movies or on television," said Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno. "Our children our spending too much time watching television and playing video games without any adult supervision, and we cannot sit back and allow them to be exposed to this senseless violence anymore. I applaud Senator Lanza for his leadership and we will continue to push the Assembly to take action against these issues."
"No child should be playing 'games' that involve mutilating people with chain saws, having sex with prostitutes, or dealing drugs," said Senator Martin J. Golden (R-C, Brooklyn), Chairman of the Senate Critical Choices Task Force. "This hyper-violent material is mind-boggling in its brutality, and our kids should simply not be exposed to it. These commonsense proposals will better inform and empower parents throughout our State, while also helping to prevent our kids from gaining access to these video games."
Currently, video games are rated "E" for everyone, "T" for teens, "M" for mature, and "AO" for adults only. A study by a group of Harvard University researchers published in 2004 reviewed a random sample of 81 "T" rated video games and found that 48 percent contained violence, sexual themes, substance use, gambling, or profanity that was not noted on the game box as it should have been. In addition, a recent study published in Applied Developmental Psychology found that only twenty-five percent of parents surveyed said that they "always" check the industry rating of computer and/or video games before renting or buying them.
This legislation would establish the following:
> Advisory Council on Interactive Media and Youth Violence -- would establish a new Advisory Council on Media, Entertainment Software and Youth Violence, which will review and make recommendations on the effectiveness of the current Entertainment Software Ratings Boards (ESRB) ratings system in keeping violent video games out of the hands of youth. The panel, which will include parents, educators, experts in child psychology, child welfare advocates, concerned citizens and industry representatives, will also develop policies relating to public education and advocacy against youth violence, examine efforts being undertaken in other states, and develop recommendations for additional ways of regulating the exposure of youth to these games.
> Rating System Labeling Requirement -- under current State law, there is no requirement that retailers place labels on video games sold in New York. To address this shortcoming, would establish a new requirement that every video game sold in New York by a retailer or over the Internet, whether new or for resale, must have a clearly displayed rating indication on the game cover or elsewhere (such as on a website). Individuals who violate these provisions will face fines and penalties.
> Parent-Teacher Anti-Violence Awareness Program -- would also establish a new Parent-Teacher Anti-Violence Awareness Program, which will empower parents and teachers to work with students and children on issues related to violence in video games. The program will also seek to increase awareness of the ratings system on games, and the importance of appropriate parental supervision. The Anti-Violence Program would be funded through fines on retailers who violate the new labeling law.
Read more on GamePolitics.com.
Read the Bill here.
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Comments
the parents that were polled about checking the ratings on the games; they should've also asked them what rating of movies they allow their children to watch as well...
but that's ok, the people making these laws are the same out-of-touch group that believe beavis & butthead talking about fire is THE reason people start fires and burn things.
noob lawmakers ftl
could we please get correspondent writers and moderators, on the eve forum at mmorpg.com, who are well-versed on eve-online and aren't just passersby pushing buttons? pretty please?
It's a good thing these NY lawmakers are stepping in with a bill to prevent kids from playing violent videogames. This makes it possible for people to be responsible parents!
Oh, wait...
They're right, children should not be playing these games. They were never meant for children.
However, it is not the government who should be sticking their nose in. Parents are responsible for their children, not the government.
Agent_X7 AKA J Star
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Notice: The views expressed in this post are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of MMORPG.com or its management.
What's sad is that these people don't care anything about children, they only care about creating an issue out of nothing so that they have something to harp on in the next election.
And what's this "culture of violence" bullshit? Yeah, we invented violence in THIS century. Seems to me, horrific violence existed long before violent video games and movies ever came about. Anyone remember Adolf Hitler? Yeah, maybe he saw one too many violent movies and played one too many violent video games. What a load of absolute rubbish.
Immediately after V-tech, people tried to blame video games and movies, but come to find out, the killer didn't play video games!
It's time we recall any and all politicians who try to restrict freedom of expression and creativity despite being fully aware that violence in the entertainment industry doesn't contribute to violence in our society at large.
I completely concur with the folks here who have said that it's the parents' responsibilities. It's a sad, regulated world in which we live, and I sometimes wonder if these hand-holding laws do not lead to some of the parental neglect in the states (with some so-called "parents" thinking that educating themselves about games, movies, and other activities are not their responsibility since the government does that for them).
It's frightening, really.
To comment on the psychology comment(s), though. I'm currently studying psychology and I have to make a very small correction to the thought that violent games do not affect the person who is playing the game.
In fact it does, and an individual who just finished playing a violet game has a higher chance - for a limited period of time - to react aggressively to aggressive stimuli.
In other words, they may react to something that they would not have otherwise reacted to.
However, this is really not any different than the exact same thing that you see as a result of watching an exciting movie, or listening to music that really gets you geared up. The affects are also very temporary, as the affect that the game/movie/music has on you wanes after a short period of time.
Unless you're not normal, in which case you have a higher than average chance of going off of the wall at someone. That's true for anything though when you're talking about someone who has mental and/or emotional issues. So, to my mind, it's a non-issue because stimuli is stimuli to those people, regardless of what form it may be in.
Anyway! There's that. :-P
~Mysk
Yes, I'm aware of those studies, and most people can attest to the truth in them. But that's not what we're talking about.
We're talking about there being no correlation between playing violent video games and violent behavior/crime.
For which, of course, there is no evidence.
They are sad excuses for politicians, and the public who believes this crap are like blind cows being led to the slaughter.
The ratings on the games they don't agree with are already M or AO and weren't meant for children anyway. Yet when these idiot kids do something wrong the "innocent" parents look for any reason at all why their kids would do something horrible like that. They blame anything at all in order to get the blame away from themselves, when all they have to do is look in the mirror.
If they were responsible parents then they would know what their kids were playing. Who bought the games for these underage kids anyway? Oh yeah, that was the parents who didn't bother to look at the ratings on the box.
====================
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How many hundreds of millions of dollars are they planning on wasting on this and where are they getting it from?
Last i checked funding for troops over in iraq was lacking if they waste money this its likely to come of the iraq funds some where.
Some people shouldn't be having children. If they don't have the time or care enough to watch over their kids it's not anyone's fault but their own. Why should the government be responsible for what the parents should be doing?
Just think, the honorable lady Hillary R. Clinton is probably behind this. It's her state, and your next possible future president.
/VOTE?
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