From the Video Game Voters Network:
As you read this, your Congressperson may be considering co-sponsoring the newest regulatory assault on video games – Rep. Joe Baca’s (D-CA) bill H.R. 231 “The Video Game Health Labeling Act.” Baca’s bill mandates that video games rated Teen or higher receive the following warning label:
“WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior.”
The warning is essentially false, and the bill is stupid and bad policy. Is it also unconstitutional under the compelled speech jurisprudence? Congress couldn’t require certain novels to carry similar warnings, could it?
- What if the text was, “SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior”?
- Does it matter that the statutory warning is triggered by a “Teen” rating, an essentially voluntary statement that video game publishers don’t have to make? (But all of them do because retailers require ratings compliance; all of this of course takes place under the shadow of legal threat.)