Prepared Statement of The Honorable Cliff Stearns

Violent and Explicit Video Games: Informing Parents and Protecting Children

Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection
June 14, 2006

Good afternoon. The rise of computer and video games as mainstream entertainment has been nothing short of meteoric. U.S. computer and video game software sales reached almost $10.5 billion in 2005 - more than double since 1996. Worldwide, computer and video game sales have hit over $30 billion. And according to Price Waterhouse Coopers, the global revenue of video game companies could reach over $55 billion in 2008 -- easily surpassing that of the music industry at $33 billion. While it is a global business, the U.S. computer and video game industry continues to be the benchmark for innovation.

The spectacular rise of the video game juggernaut is not hard to understand when you see the creativity, educational value, and fun the vast majority of games offer to gamers of every age - ESPECIALLY children, who are still the core market for this burgeoning industry. According to the Entertainment Software Association, games rated for children (age 17 and under) constitute over 80% of the titles rated by the Entertainment Software Review Board or "ESRB." I, however, also note that the top game in 2004 was the now infamous Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, which is rated "M" for mature - indicating that the game's content is inappropriate for children under 17 years old.

Mature rated games continue to be top sellers and continue to push the limits of violent and sexually explicit content every year. Grand Theft Auto, which we will show a few clips from later, includes scenes that allow players to make drug deals, solicit prostitutes, gun down, bludgeon, and mutilate police and EMS workers, and as the finale, fly a plane into a skyscraper. I hardly call that fun, educational, or creative. And I don't care if it's just a game. Building a video game around a premise based on realistic, cold-blooded assassinations of innocent bystanders and police - the same law enforcement community that stands guard outside the doors of this hearing room for our protection- is not entertainment. This sort of twisted, homicidal imagery is more akin to hate speech, not free speech. It targets those who are innocent, it stereotypes, it incites hate, and it breeds disrespect for those who serve to protect.

Free speech is a constitutionally protected right, but when it involves very suspect expressions - expressions that are more akin to cultural pollution than art - it requires responsible and discrete execution. The costs our children must bear are too great. But we are not here today to debate the constitutional issues surrounding violent and explicit video games. We are here to investigate some pretty simple and common sense issues: whether parents are getting all the information they need and DESERVE to make decisions about the purchase of video and computer games, the process by which games are rated, and to what extent those games with "M"-rated or "mature" content are policed at the retail level- both on and off-line. These elements of consumer protection are needed if we are to protect our most vulnerable and valuable consumers - our children. This Committee has a long and venerable record protecting children -whether it be from on-line pornography, indecency in broadcasting, or in this case, from certain video games that have no place near children and should be banished to a secure, "adults-only" location - the video game equivalent of the red-light district.

In addition, the new phenomenon of hidden code or "mods" is another disturbing development that came to light in the Grand Theft Auto case and involves the ability to modify an existing game's underlying code with a downloadable program that can unlock hidden violent and sexually-explicit content in the game. Such practices attempt to circumvent the ratings process and again demonstrate the sophistication and stealth of the ways inappropriate content can be delivered to our children.

This type of simulated violence and sexual content undermines the efforts of parents as responsible caregivers to their children. Parents should not be required to defend constantly against the increasing media and marketing onslaught of violent and sexually explicit video and computer games. Media, marketing, and delivery technology (computers, PDAs, cell phones) have become omnipresent in and outside the home. More needs to be done by the industries involved, which have the money, resources, and expertise to better protect children. Ratings need to be clearer and more universal. Hidden content and the use of "mods" to evade ratings need to be met with more severe penalties. Retail stores need to be more vigilant in how they age verify customers - both online and at point of sale. Technology can do a lot. For example, parental control technologies, like those found on the Microsoft X-Box, allow playing consoles to read ratings and allow parents to prohibit certain content from being played even if a child has it in hand. This is progress. I also strongly urge the FTC to finish their report on the Grand Theft Auto controversy and get tough with companies like Take Two Interactive that flout the law and continue to exploit our kids with violence and hate.

And finally, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. After member opening statements, I would like to show a clip from Grand Theft Auto that has been meticulously edited to remove some of the more extreme sexual content but still contains some very disturbing violent content. This should give us a sense of what constitutes a "mature" or "M" rating under the ESRB system and perhaps will make us wonder how bad things need to be to warrant an "adults only" or "AO" mark - a brand that would take this pollution out of our mass media and retail outlets frequented by our children and take the profit out of peddling violence and sex to our kids. I'd like to thank the witnesses before us today for their presence and views. Your testimony is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

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