Movie-makers, television networks and videogame publishers already police themselves with voluntary rating systems designed to inform the consumer of the kinds of content they'll find in their entertainment.
Still, the FCC is considering creating a single, compulsory ratings system that will cover videogames, television programming, movies and even mobile content. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski worries that parents still don't have the proper tools to help prevent their children from being exposed to troublesome content.
"Parents worry not only about the TV in the den, but about the computer in the kitchen, the gaming console in the basement, and the mobile phones in their kids' pockets," he said during public testimony to the Commerce Committee earlier. "Parents increasingly find themselves playing the digital media equivalent of a 'zone defense' across this increasingly wide playing field."
As expected, entertainment groups disapprove of such measures. With rating systems already in place for most media, such moves are not only redundant, but but also in danger of infringing upon the First Amendment rights of content producers. The Entertainment Software Association has said that the FCC has no jurisdiction over videogames.
In 1994, hoping to avoid intervention from the government, the ESA formed created the Entertainment Software Ratings Board -- an independent, self-regulatory body that assigns content ratings to most videogames.
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