Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), along with Senators Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) and Hilary Clinton (D-N.Y.), introduced the Media Marketing Accountability Act today, a bill that could punish entertainment companies that continue to direct adult-rated material to minors.

The bill was announced just days after a follow-up report by the Federal Trade Commission to Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children: A Review of Self-Regulation and Industry Practices in the Motion Picture, Music Recording and Electronic Gaming Industries, a damning report released last September, that found all three industries guilty of marketing explicit products to children under the age of seventeen.

At a Senate hearing upon the release of the initial report, members of the Senate Commerce Committee urged the three industries to strengthen their self-regulated standards, but chose not to take action. While the second report found that the film and game industries had made some progress, the music industry was cited, in particular, for failing to show a decrease in the number of instances of adult material being marketed towards children. "These industries were making a mockery of the ratings systems that they had created and promoted," Lieberman said.

"As much as I appreciate this progress," Lieberman said of the second report, "I cannot really give a full hooray for Hollywood, because the FTC report makes clear that this problem has not been solved. Some video game makers and movie studios, including those that have pledged not to unfairly target kids, are still advertising adult-rated products in places popular with young teens. And the leading music companies and their trade group, the RIAA, have sadly been MIA, doing little if anything to respond to the FTC report and curb the marketing of obscenity-laced records to kids."

At the heart of the Media Marketing Accountability Act is an extension of current false and deceptive advertising laws, broadening their range to cover the marketing of adult material to children that the FTC studied for their report. The bill would define such advertising as deceptive and illegal under the Federal Trade Commission Act, opening violators up to civil fines of up to $11,000 per day for each violation.

"Some will claim this is censorship," Lieberman said. "But the truth is we're not empowering the FTC to regulate content in any way or even to make judgements about what products are appropriate for children. We are simply saying that if you voluntarily label a product as being unsuitable for kids, and then turn around and market it in a way that directly contradicts that rating, you should be held accountable, just like any other company that misleads consumers. That's not censorship, that's common sense."

"The very nature of his proposal raises serious constitutional red flags," said Recording Industry Association of America Senior Executive Vice President Cary Sherman. "Senator Lieberman's legislation could, in fact, create a disincentive to providing information to parents about explicit content. By essentially punishing those who adopt voluntary guidelines, the legislation would have the unintentional result of discouraging participation in the successful Parental Advisory Program. We are committed to providing parents with information so that they can make the best choices for their children."

Clinton reiterated Lieberman's belief that the bill did not represent a form of censorship. "[The legislation] does nothing to limit the creative imagination that fuels the entertainment industry," she said. "It plainly and simply tells those who market entertainment that they should not try to get kids to buy what those who produce movies and music and video games have already decided is too violent or sexual for kids to see or hear."

At President Bill Clinton's request, Lieberman and Kohl, along with Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) introduced the legislation two years ago that led to the initial FTC report. The investigation was initiated by the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colo. In the shooting's immediate aftermath, the music the two young shooters listened to (allegedly KMFDM and Rammstein) was scrutinized as a possible catalyst for the incident.

ANDREW DANSBY
(April 26, 2001)