Adam Thiererathierer@pff.org

Progress & Freedom FoundationApril 2008

www.pff.org1

www.pff.org/parentalcontrols2

Version 3.0

Outline(I) Why care about ratings & parental controls?

(II) Current state of ratings

(III) Current state of parental control tools

(IV) Third-party rating efforts

(V) Legal/ regulatory issues

(VI) Future controversies & issues

(VII) The forgotten role of informal household rules

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Why Care about Ratings & Parental Controls?Recent video game and Internet legal cases

suggest a major jurisprudential shiftCourts have:

(a) rejected most “harm to minors” theories(b) employed the “less restrictive means” test

= regulation must yield to private alternatives if they are available and effective (Q: but what is effective?)

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Courts have largely foreclosed government censorship of most media and placed responsibility over what enters the home squarely in the hands of parents

This is why parental control tools and methods are more important than ever before

But, future policy debates could hinge on continued effectiveness of ratings & parental controls

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What makes for a “good” rating system?The purpose of a rating system is to:

(1) convey information about a given media product to consumers (especially parents),

(2) so that they are able to make an informed judgment about the wisdom of consuming that media, or allowing children to consume it.

In other words, a good rating system INFORMS and EMPOWERS

A rating system is NOT a tool to “clean up” or self-censor media

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The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB)Established in 1994Rates approximately 1,000 games per

yearVirtually every game produced for retail

sale is rated7 rating symbols + over 30 content

descriptorsBoth ratings and descriptors have

evolved slightly over time 8

ESRB Game Ratings EARLY CHILDHOOD: Titles rated EC have content that may be suitable for ages 3 and older.

Contains no material that parents would find inappropriate.

EVERYONE: Titles rated E have content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older. Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language.

EVERYONE 10+: Titles rated E10+ have content that may be suitable for ages 10 and older. Titles in this category may contain more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language, and/or minimal suggestive themes.

TEEN: Titles rated T have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language.

MATURE: Titles rated M have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content, and/or strong language.

ADULTS ONLY: Titles rated AO have content that should only be played by persons 18 years and older. Titles in this category may include prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and nudity.

RATING PENDING: Titles listed as RP have been submitted to the ESRB and are awaiting final rating. (This symbol appears only in advertising prior to a game’s release.)

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ESRB Content DescriptorsAlcohol ReferenceAnimated BloodBlood Blood and GoreCartoon ViolenceComic MischiefCrude HumorDrug ReferenceEdutainmentFantasy Violence Informational Intense ViolenceLanguageLyricsMature HumorMild Violence

NudityPartial NudityReal GamblingSexual ThemesSexual ViolenceSimulated Gambling Some Adult Assistance May Be NeededStrong LanguageStrong LyricsStrong Sexual ContentSuggestive ThemesTobacco ReferenceUse of DrugsUse of AlcoholUse of TobaccoViolence

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“E” “E 10+”

“T”

“M”

ESRB also…operates an Advertising Review Council

(ARC) that promotes and monitors advertising and marketing practices in the gaming industry.“Principles for Responsible Advertising” “Advertising Code of Conduct”

works with retailers to educate“OK to Play” campaign

has an educational partnership with the Parent-Teacher Association to encourage and enable state and local PTAs to educate their community’s parents

produces educational PSAs with policy makers to build awareness about ESRB system

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ESRB Promotional Efforts

Relative Strengths of the ESRBMost comprehensive industry-led media rating &

labeling system to date“professional” game content is all being labeled Focus on content descriptors versus ratings

differentiates the ESRB; provides much more information to parents

A lot of parents are aware of it and use itOf course, the price tag of games helps!

$40-$60 price tag means parents pay more attention“power of the purse” more prevalent with games

than other media content

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67%

72%

78%

83%

89%

43%

53%

71% 70%74%

85%

49%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1999 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007

Ratings Awareness Ratings Use

Source: Entertainment Software Rating Board, Peter D. Hart Research Associates

Challenges for ESRB system#1 challenge = Retailer compliance

Constant need to train and retrain retail clerks to enforce system at point of sale

Many clerks are young themselves; friends of buyers

System often judged by unique outliers (ex: “Grand Theft Auto” and “Manhunt”)Unfair; like judging all books by the Unibomber manifesto! Most games are acceptable for young kids

Keeping game developers happy is hard!The artists who create these games often don’t like

having their art rated; creates tensions

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ESRB Challenges (cont.)Social science critiques

some psychologists or media critics allege … Failure to account for supposed harm to cognitive

development of minors Ratings creep

Legal / regulatory challengesConstant stream of state & federal legislation

(discussed in concluding section on “Future Trends”)

Seemingly endless legal cycle 10 major cases so far, all won by industry

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Game Console ControlsAll major gaming consoles (Microsoft, Sony,

Nintendo) have embedded parental controls toolscan block by both ESRB and MPAA ratings (via

metadata tags)allow parents to enter the ESRB rating level that they

believe is acceptable for their children. Once they do so, no game rated above that level can be played on the console

Even controls for massive, multiplayer online gamingEx: XBOX 360 can block chat, restrict via a “buddies

list,” and block online purchasesMicrosoft Vista offers similar gaming controls

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How the Xbox 360 gets it right…Importance of “out-of-the-box” parental

controls experienceBundled ESRB rating card+ clear manualOnline support/ manualsChat restrictionsBuying restrictionsBuddy lists can be easily monitored“Family timer” now offered (limits game

time)

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Microsoft Vista Controls

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Other consoles…Nintendo (Wii) & Sony (PS3) not quite as

sophisticated as the Xbox, but basic controls are included in both systemsCan filter by rating and block chat & purchases

Sony’s PS3 controls need some workStrange “1-11” rating matrix; not explained

well in manualManual & online site lacks details; little

assistance More difficult to set up out of the box

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Common Sense Media

www.commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews

Gamer Dad

www.gamerdad.com

What They Play

www.whattheyplay.com

Children’s Technology Review

www.childrenssoftware.com

+ good user-generated reviews of video games on sites like Amazon.com and Metacritic.com

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Most obviously, not industry affiliatedWealth of divergent views; many from average

parents (and sometimes even kids)Creates equivalent of a shadow ratings

process = a check / watchdog for the ESRB

But.. none are as comprehensive as the ESRB; many games not considered by these sites; they focus mostly on popular titles

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Benefit of independent rating & review sites:

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Some thoughts about ratings and technical controls…

No rating system is perfect and no parental control tool is foolproof

Rating and content-labeling efforts are not an exact science; rating art is not like solving mathematical equations

But ratings and parental control tools need not be perfect to be preferable to government regulation

That is particularly true because of the First Amendment values at stake here

Moreover, private ratings and controls have many advantages over government regulation…

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Advantages of Private Ratings & Controls vs. Government Regs

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Future issues(1) renewed push for universal media ratings? or just…

(2) Oversight of ESRB by Congress or non-profit / academic groups?

(3) More FTC oversight of retailer enforcement?FTC already conducts secret shopper surveys + report

(4) Mandatory age verification for MMOGs & online activities?

(5) Mandatory parental controls defaults (i.e, controls forced “ON” out of box, requiring parents to opt out of controls)

(6) What happens when “AO” games hit consoles?(7) What about virtual reality games?

Star Trek’s “holo-deck” is coming to your living room!Already seeing more tactile devices coming to market

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Appendix: The forgotten role of

Household Media Rules

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Household Media Rules= Any non-technical method of controlling media

consumptionA frequently overlooked part of the parental controls

storyIn many ways, household efforts represent the most

important steps that most parents can take in dealing with potentially objectionable content or teaching their children how to be sensible, savvy media consumers, and…

To the extent that many households never take advantage of technical controls, it is likely because they rely instead on informal household media rules

In a nutshell… Parents are parenting! 33

Taxonomy of Household Media Rules1) “Where” RulesPew survey: 74% of homes with teenagers have their computers in an “open family

area”

2) “When and How Much” RulesPew survey: 59% of parents limit the amount of time their children can spend playing

video games and 69 percent limit how much time their children can spend online

3) “Under What Condition” Rules

4) “What” RulesPew survey: 67% of parents already have rules for the kinds of video games they can

play34

Regardless of other issues or disagreements,

we all need to think about how video games fit into a “balanced media diet”

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The Media Food Pyramid: The Importance of a Balanced Media Diet

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