[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2497 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2497

   To provide for the development, use, and enforcement of an easily 
 recognizable system in plain English for labeling violent content in 
 audio and visual media products and services, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 2, 2000

  Mr. McCain (for himself and Mr. Lieberman) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide for the development, use, and enforcement of an easily 
 recognizable system in plain English for labeling violent content in 
 audio and visual media products and services, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Media Violence Labeling Act of 
2000''.

SEC. 2. SYSTEM FOR LABELING VIOLENT CONTENT IN AUDIO AND VISUAL MEDIA 
              PRODUCTS AND SERVICES.

    (a) Declaration of Policy.--Section 2 of the Federal Cigarette 
Labeling and Advertising Act (15 U.S.C. 1331) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(a) Policy Regarding Cigarettes.--'' 
        before ``It is the policy of the Congress''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Policy Regarding Violence in Audio and Visual Media Products 
and Services.--It is also the policy of Congress, and the purpose of 
this Act, to provide for the establishment, use, and enforcement of a 
consistent and comprehensive system in plain English for labeling 
violent content in audio and visual media products and services 
(including labeling of such products and services in the advertisements 
for such products and services), whereby--
            ``(1) the public may be adequately informed of--
                    ``(A) the nature, context, and intensity of 
                depictions of violence in audio and visual media 
                products and services; and
                    ``(B) matters needed to judge the appropriateness 
                of the purchase, viewing, listening to, use, or other 
                consumption of audio and visual media products and 
                services containing violent content by minors of 
                various ages; and
            ``(2) the public may be assured of--
                    ``(A) the accuracy and consistency of the system in 
                labeling the nature, context, and intensity of 
                depictions of violence in audio and visual media 
                products and services; and
                    ``(B) the accuracy and consistency of the system in 
                providing information on matters needed to judge the 
                appropriateness of the purchase, viewing, listening to, 
                use, or other consumption of audio and visual media 
                products and services containing violent content by 
                minors of various ages.''.
    (b) Definition.--Section 3 of that Act (15 U.S.C. 1332) is amended 
by adding at the end the following:
            ``(10)(A) The term `audio and visual media products and 
        services' means interactive video game products and services, 
        video program products, motion picture products, and sound 
        recording products.
            ``(B) The term does not include television programming, 
        including any motion picture broadcast on television.''.
    (c) Labeling of Audio and Visual Media Products and Services.--That 
Act is further amended by inserting after section 4 (15 U.S.C. 1333) 
the following new section:

       ``labeling of audio and visual media products and services

    ``Sec. 4A. (a) Voluntary Labeling System.--(1) Manufacturers and 
producers of audio and visual media products and services may submit to 
the Federal Trade Commission a joint proposal for a system for labeling 
the violent content in audio and visual media products and services.
    ``(2) The proposal under this subsection should, to the maximum 
extent practicable, meet the requirements set forth in subsection (b).
    ``(3)(A) The antitrust laws shall not apply to any joint 
discussion, consideration, review, action, or agreement between or 
among manufacturers and producers referred to in paragraph (1) for 
purposes of developing a joint proposal for a system for labeling 
referred to in that paragraph.
    ``(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the term `antitrust laws' has 
the meaning given such term in the first section of the Clayton Act (15 
U.S.C. 12) and includes section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act 
(15 U.S.C. 45).
    ``(b) Requirements for Labeling System.--A system for labeling the 
violent content in audio and visual media products and services under 
this section shall meet the following requirements:
            ``(1) The label of a product or service shall consist of a 
        single format which provides a product-specific or service-
        specific description in plain English of the nature, context, 
        and intensity of the depictions of violence in the product or 
        service.
            ``(2) The content description of a product or service under 
        paragraph (1) shall specify a minimum age in years for the 
        purchase, viewing, listening to, use, or other consumption of 
        the product or service in light of the totality of all 
        depictions of violence in the product or service.
            ``(3) The format of the label for products and services 
        shall--
                    ``(A) incorporate each label provided for under 
                paragraphs (1) and (2);
                    ``(B) include product-specific or service-specific 
                written text in plain English; and
                    ``(C) be identical in visual format for each given 
                label provided under paragraphs (1) and (2), regardless 
                of the type of product or service involved.
            ``(4) In the case of a product or service sold in a box, 
        carton, sleeve, or other container, the label shall appear on 
        the box, carton, sleeve, or container in a conspicuous manner.
            ``(5) In the case of a time-sequenced product or service 
        that is intended to be viewed, the label shall--
                    ``(A) appear before the commencement of the product 
                or service;
                    ``(B) appear in both visual and audio form; and
                    ``(C) appear in visual form for at least five 
                seconds.
            ``(6) Any advertisement for a product or service shall 
        include a label of the product or service in accordance with 
        the applicable provisions of this subsection.
    ``(c) Federal Trade Commission Responsibilities.--(1)(A) If the 
manufacturers and producers referred to in subsection (a) submit to the 
Federal Trade Commission a proposal for a labeling system referred to 
in that subsection not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of the Media Violence Labeling Act of 2000, the Commission 
shall review the labeling system contained in the proposal to determine 
whether the labeling system meets the requirements set forth in 
subsection (b) in a manner that addresses fully the purposes set forth 
in section 2(b).
    ``(B) Not later than 180 days after commencing a review of the 
proposal for a labeling system under subparagraph (A), the Commission 
shall issue a labeling system for purposes of this section. The 
labeling system issued under this subparagraph may include such 
modifications of the proposal as the Commission considers appropriate 
in order to assure that the labeling system meets the requirements set 
forth in subsection (b) in a manner that addresses fully the purposes 
set forth in section 2(b).
    ``(2)(A) If the manufacturers and producers referred to in 
subsection (a) do not submit to the Commission a proposal for a 
labeling system referred to in that subsection within the time provided 
under paragraph (1)(A), the Commission shall prescribe regulations to 
establish a labeling system for purposes of this section that meets the 
requirements set forth in subsection (b).
    ``(B) Any regulations under subparagraph (A) shall be prescribed 
not later than one year after the date of the enactment of the Media 
Violence Labeling Act of 2000.
    ``(d) Prohibition on Sale or Distribution Without Label.--Except as 
provided in subsection (f), commencing one year after the date of the 
enactment of the Media Violence Labeling Act of 2000, a person may not 
manufacture or produce for sale or distribution in commerce, package 
for sale or distribution in commerce, or sell or distribute in commerce 
any audio or visual media product or service unless the product or 
service bears a label in accordance with the labeling system issued or 
prescribed by the Federal Trade Commission under subsection (c).
    ``(e) Prohibition on Sale in Violation of Age Restriction.--Except 
as provided in subsection (f), commencing one year after the date of 
the enactment of the Media Violence Labeling Act of 2000, a person may 
not sell in commerce any audio or visual media product or service to an 
individual whose age in years is less than the age specified as the 
minimum age in years for a purchaser and consumer of the product or 
service, as the case may be, under the labeling system issued or 
prescribed by the Federal Trade Commission under subsection (c).
    ``(f) Defenses.--(1) It shall be a defense to a violation of 
subsection (d) or (e) that the person made a good faith effort to 
comply with subsection (d) or (e), as the case may be.
    ``(2) In the case of a person who is an employer, it shall be a 
defense to a violation of subsection (e) by an employee of such person 
that such person--
            ``(A) carried out a program designed to train employees of 
        such person in techniques and procedures necessary to ensure 
        compliance with subsection (e); and
            ``(B) enforced the compliance of such employees with such 
        techniques and procedures.
    ``(g) Investigations of Improper Labeling.--(1) The attorney 
general of a State shall have the authority to receive and investigate 
allegations that an audio or visual media product or service within 
such State does not bear a label under the labeling system issued or 
prescribed by the Commission under subsection (c) that is appropriate 
for the product or service, as the case may be, given the nature, 
context, and intensity of the depictions of violence in the product or 
service.
    ``(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term `attorney general', 
in the case of a State, means the chief legal officer of the State.''.
    (d) Civil Penalty.--That Act is further amended by inserting after 
section 10 (15 U.S.C. 1338) the following new section:

                            ``civil penalty

    ``Sec. 10A. (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (f) 
of section 4A, any person who violates subsection (d) or (e) of section 
4A shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed 
$10,000 for each such violation.
    ``(b) Duration of Violation.--In the case of an audio or visual 
media product or service determined to violate section 4A(d), each day 
from the date of the commencement of sale or distribution of the 
product or service, as the case may be, to the date of the 
determination of the violation shall constitute a separate violation of 
subsection (a), and all such violations shall be aggregated together 
for purposes of determining the total liability of the manufacturer or 
producer of the product or service, as the case may be, for such 
violations under that subsection.''.
    (e) Short Title of Act.--The first section of that Act (15 U.S.C. 
1331 note) is amended to read as follows: ``That this Act may be cited 
as the `Federal Cigarette and Media Violence Labeling and Advertising 
Act'''.
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