House of Representatives member Joe Baca (D-California) has introduced legislation that would attach a warning label to games rated Teen and higher.
Baca says that the Video Game Health Labeling Act of 2009 is being introduced in response to the video game industry's alleged failure "to inform [consumers] of the potentially damaging content that is often found in their products."
The label would be similar to those already found on alcohol and tobacco products, reading: "WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior."
In a press release concerning the bill, Baca cites a number of recent scientific studies as evidence of a neurological link between video games and aggression, and believes that affixing a warning label will "work to stop the growing influence of violent media on America's children and youth."
While it might seem a bit redundant to slap a warning label onto a box that already features a content rating, Baca's bill strikes me as a rather clever approach to attaching the stigma of moral corruption to video games. Previous bills went too far: by attempting to ban the sale of video games to minors, and essentially lumping video games in the same category as pornography, lawmakers attempted to skirt the
Constitution.
A warning label wouldn't get Halo any closer to being banned, but would likely cause a great deal of alarm to those parents that do read the box before purchasing a game. I'm all for educating the uninformed about potentially harmful substances, provided there's concrete evidence, but a vaguely worded warning label does little more than sensationalize research results.
Chris says: First of all, no one has ever shown a causal link between violent games and violent behavior. Secondly, I doubt this measure would pass Constitutional muster either – imagine the dramatic chilling effect such a warning label would have.
Image: smcgee/ flickr
Press Release [via GamePolitics]
