Intellectual Property Law

Health Warnings could Become Mandatory for... Video Games?

By Chris Bennett, Tudor Carsten, Michael R. Coburn, Sarah Dale-Harris, Pablo Guzman, Danielle (Dani) Lemon, Chris Metcalfe and David Spratley

U.S. Congressman Joe Baca has proposed a piece of legislation entitled the Video Game Health Labeling Act of 2009, which would require that games with an Electronics Software Ratings Board (ESRB) rating of "T" for Teen or higher feature a label stating "WARNING : Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior".

Rep. Baca has reportedly stated that the video game industry has the responsibility to inform its consumers of any potential harmful content in their products, which it has failed to live up to, in light of research that demonstrates that there is a link between violent video games and aggression in young people.

However, some have stated that there is no proven link between violent video games and aggressive behavior. As reported on the GameDaily website, although a recent study did suggest a link between exposure to violent games and aggression, this study has been criticized by the Entertainment Consumer's Association (ECA) and a psychologist from Texas A&M University (coverage at www.davis.ca). It has also been argued that a game's objectionable content is disclosed by the ESRB next to its age rating, if any.

Coverage at GameDaily.com

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Full post as published by Video Game Law Blog on January 27, 2009 (boomark / email).