The Federal Trade Commission announced Tuesday that it has no legal authority to prosecute entertainment companies that market adult-rated products to children, a setback for efforts to curb the industry through regulatory pressure.
Kids can go to R-rated movies with their parents.
The report sparked outrage on Capitol Hill, and lawmakers asked the commission to review whether laws against unfair and deceptive advertising could apply to entertainment violence. They hoped that the strategy that worked against the tobacco and alcohol industries would give the government leverage with the entertainment business as well. But Pitofsky concluded the situations were not comparable. The finding effectively shut down a legal avenue some members of Congress had been eager to pursue, prosecuting the marketing of violent products without challenging the entertainment content, which is protected by the First Amendment. Pitofsky's opinion, released by fax without fanfare late Tuesday, caught Hollywood by surprise.