[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3935 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3935

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 26, 2006

 Mr. Brownback introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe rules to prohibit 
  deceptive conduct in the rating of video and computer games 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 ``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 in 
        its entirety.
            (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 the 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.
                    (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.
            (3) Gross mischaracterization of content.--Such rules shall 
        prohibit any rating organization from providing a content 
        rating that grossly mischaracterizes (as defined by the 
        Commission in such rules) the content of the video or computer 
        game.

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

    (a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States 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 online or 
        Internet-based games;
            (2) whether content ratings systems, like that used by the 
        Entertainment Software Ratings Board, should be peer-reviewed;
            (3) whether an independent ratings 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.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report on 
the findings of the study conducted pursuant to subsection (a). 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.

    In this Act:
            (1) Content rating.--The term ``content rating'' means any 
        rating of the content of a video or computer game provided to 
        notify consumers of any content which may be offensive to 
        consumers or may not be suitable to persons of varying ages, 
        including such content as violence, graphic sexual content, 
        nudity, or strong language.
            (2) Hidden content.--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) Playable content.--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 hidden content.
            (4) Rating organization.--The term ``rating organization'' 
        means the Entertainment Software Ratings Board or any other 
        independent organization that assigns content ratings for video 
        or computer games.
            (5) Video or computer game.--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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