[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6113 Introduced in House (IH)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6113

 To direct the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe rules to prohibit 
      deceptive conduct in the rating of video and computer games.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 20, 2006

 Mr. Stearns (for himself, Mr. Matheson, and Mr. McIntyre) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe rules to prohibit 
      deceptive conduct in the rating of video and computer games.

    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 ``Truth in Video Game Rating Act''.

SEC. 2. DECEPTIVE RATINGS OF VIDEO GAMES.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Federal Trade Commission shall prescribe rules under section 553 of 
title 5, United States Code, to prohibit the following as an unfair and 
deceptive act or practice prescribed pursuant to section 18(a)(1)(B) of 
the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)):
            (1) Rating game only on partial content.--Such rules shall 
        prohibit any rating organization from assigning a content 
        rating to any video or computer game that is to bear a label 
        containing such content rating when sold or distributed in 
        interstate commerce unless such rating organization has 
        reviewed the playable content of the video or computer game.
            (2) Withholding content for rating.--
                    (A) In general.--Such rules shall prohibit any 
                person who produces, sells, or otherwise distributes 
                video or computer games in interstate commerce from 
                withholding or hiding any playable content of a video 
                or computer game from, or in any other manner failing 
                to disclose any playable content of a video or computer 
                game to, a rating organization, with the intent of 
                obtaining a less-restrictive content rating than the 
                video or computer game would likely receive if such 
                rating organization were to review the withheld or 
                hidden content.
                    (B) Hidden content.--Such rules shall provide that 
                where, in the course of obtaining a content rating, a 
                person submits to a rating organization a video or 
                computer game that contains hidden content, that such 
                person also provide the rating organization with the 
                necessary codes or methods of accessing such hidden 
                content, or with reproductions of the scenes, images, 
                sounds and words comprising such hidden content.

SEC. 3. G.A.O. STUDY.

    (a) Study.--The Comptroller General shall conduct a study to 
determine--
            (1) the efficacy of the Entertainment Software Ratings 
        Board ratings system in assigning appropriate content ratings 
        to video and computer games, including ratings for on-line or 
        Internet-based games;
            (2) whether content ratings systems, like that used by the 
        Entertainment Software Ratings Board, should be peered-
        reviewed;
            (3) whether an independent rating system, developed and 
        administered by persons or entities with no financial interest 
        in the video and computer game industry, would result in more 
        accurate and effective content ratings for video and computer 
        games than the rating system used by the Entertainment Software 
        Ratings Board; and
            (4) the efficacy of a universal ratings system for visual 
        content, including films, broadcast and cable television, and 
        video and computer games.
    (b) Report.--The Comptroller General shall transmit a report on the 
findings of the study conducted pursuant to subsection (a) to Congress 
not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act. The 
report shall contain recommendations regarding effective approaches to 
video and computer game content ratings that address the unique ratings 
challenges of online and Internet-based video games.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act--
            (1) the term ``content rating'' means the age-based rating 
        assigned by a rating organization to a video or computer game 
        in order to notify consumers about the suitability of the game 
        for particular age groups, or any other description that a 
        rating organization assigns to a video or computer game in 
        order to notify consumers of any content that may be offensive 
        to consumers or may not be suitable to persons of varying ages, 
        such as violence, graphic sexual content, nudity, or strong 
        language;
            (2) the term ``hidden content'' means any playable content 
        that may be disabled or blocked from a user of the video or 
        computer game so that it can be accessed only by inputting a 
        code or command or by altering the game's software with a 
        modification, patch, or similar tool, utility, or method;
            (3) the term ``playable content'', with respect to video or 
        computer games, means all of the scenes, visual images, sounds, 
        and words that a user can access after installing the game on a 
        computer, console, telecommunication device, or similar 
        technology, and includes any hidden content;
            (4) the term ``rating organization'' means the 
        Entertainment Software Ratings Board or any other independent 
        organization that assigns content ratings for video or computer 
        games; and
            (5) the term ``video or computer game'' means any product, 
        whether distributed electronically or through a tangible 
        device, consisting of data, programs, routines, instructions, 
        applications, symbolic languages, or similar electronic 
        information that enables a user to interact with a computer-
        controlled virtual environment for entertainment purposes.
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