II 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Truth in Video Game 

5 Rating Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DECEPTIVE RATINGS OF VIDEO GAMES. 

7 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall prescribe 

9 rules under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, 


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1 to prohibit the following as an unfair and deceptive act 

2 or practice prescribed pursuant to section 18(a)(1)(B) of 

3 the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 

4 57a(a)(1)(B)): 

5 (1) RATING GAME ONLY ON PARTIAL CON6 TENT.—Such rules shall prohibit any rating organi7 zation from assigning a content rating to any video 

8 or computer game that is to bear a label containing 

9 such content rating when sold or distributed in 

10 interstate commerce unless such rating organization 

11 has reviewed the playable content of the video or 

12 computer game in its entirety. 

13 (2) WITHHOLDING CONTENT FOR RATING.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Such rules shall pro15 hibit any person who produces, sells, or other16 wise distributes video or computer games in 

17 interstate commerce from withholding or hiding 

18 any playable content of the video or computer 

19 game from, or in any other manner failing to 

20 disclose any playable content of a video or com21 puter game to, a rating organization. 

22 (B) HIDDEN CONTENT.—Such rules shall 

23 provide that where, in the course of obtaining 

24 a content rating, a person submits to a rating 

25 organization a video or computer game that 


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1 contains hidden content, that such person also 

2 provide the rating organization with the nec3 essary codes or methods of accessing such hid4 den content. 

5 (3) GROSS MISCHARACTERIZATION OF CON6 TENT.—Such rules shall prohibit any rating organi7 zation from providing a content rating that grossly 

8 mischaracterizes (as defined by the Commission in 

9 such rules) the content of the video or computer 

10 game. 

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

12 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

13 States shall conduct a study to determine— 

14 (1) the efficacy of the Entertainment Software 

15 Ratings Board ratings system in assigning appro16 priate content ratings to video and computer games, 

17 including ratings for online or Internet-based games; 

18 (2) whether content ratings systems, like that 

19 used by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, 

20 should be peer-reviewed; 

21 (3) whether an independent ratings system, de22 veloped and administered by persons or entities with 

23 no financial interest in the video and computer game 

24 industry, would result in more accurate and effective 

25 content ratings for video and computer games than 


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1 the rating system used by the Entertainment Soft2 ware Ratings Board; and 

3 (4) the efficacy of a universal ratings system 

4 for visual content, including films, broadcast and 

5 cable television and video, and computer games. 

6 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

7 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

8 submit to Congress a report on the findings of the study 

9 conducted pursuant to subsection (a). The report shall 

10 contain recommendations regarding effective approaches 

11 to video and computer game content ratings that address 

12 the unique ratings challenges of online and Internet-based 

13 video games. 

14 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act: 

16 (1) CONTENT RATING.—The term ‘‘content rat17 ing’’ means any rating of the content of a video or 

18 computer game provided to notify consumers of any 

19 content which may be offensive to consumers or may 

20 not be suitable to persons of varying ages, including 

21 such content as violence, graphic sexual content, nu22 dity, or strong language. 

23 (2) HIDDEN CONTENT.—The term ‘‘hidden con24 tent’’ means any playable content that may be dis25 abled or blocked from a user of the video or comVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:01 Sep 27, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3935.IS S3935

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1 puter game so that it can be accessed only by 

2 inputting a code or command or by altering the 

3 game’s software with a modification, patch, or simi4 lar tool, utility, or method. 

5 (3) PLAYABLE CONTENT.—The term ‘‘playable 

6 content’’, with respect to video or computer games, 

7 means all of the scenes, visual images, sounds, and 

8 words that a user can access after installing the 

9 game on a computer, console, telecommunication de10 vice, or similar technology, and includes hidden con11 tent. 

12 (4) RATING ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘rating 

13 organization’’ means the Entertainment Software 

14 Ratings Board or any other independent organiza15 tion that assigns content ratings for video or com16 puter games. 

17 (5) VIDEO OR COMPUTER GAME.—The term 

18 ‘‘video or computer game’’ means any product, 

19 whether distributed electronically or through a tan20 gible device, consisting of data, programs, routines, 

21 instructions, applications, symbolic languages, or 

22 similar electronic information that enables a user to 

23 interact with a computer-controlled virtual environ24 ment for entertainment purposes. 

Æ 


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