Sen. Clinton wants video game access probe

Monterey Herald ^ | 7/13/05 | AP - Washington, DC

[NormsRevenge]

WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has attacked violent video games as "a silent epidemic" among children, said she wants a federal investigation into one of the most popular, "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas."

Clinton, D-N.Y., is asking the Federal Trade Commission to probe how users of the game can access "graphic pornographic and violent content" for the game from the Internet.

In a letter dated Thursday to FTC chairwoman Deborah Platt Majoras, she also urged the agency to examine whether the game's rating of "M" for mature should be changed to an "Adults Only" rating.

The Entertainment Software Ratings Board, a self-regulatory ratings arm of the game software industry, is already investigating the issue.

New York's junior senator said it is time for the federal government to step in.

"There is no doubting the fact that the widespread availability of sexually explicit and graphically violent video games makes the challenge of parenting much harder," Clinton said in her missive seeking an FTC investigation.

The senator is also pushing legislation that would make it harder for young kids to get access to such content.

Even before her election to the Senate, Clinton spoke out against the amount of sexual and violent content available to children.

In March, Clinton delivered a speech to the Kaiser Family Foundation in which she called media sex and violence "a silent epidemic" among children, and sought federal research into how exposure to such graphic content affects young minds.

In that speech to media experts and child advocates, she singled out "Grand Theft Auto" as particularly harmful, saying it "has so many demeaning messages about women and so encourages violent imagination and activities and it scares parents.... They're playing a game that encourages them to have sex with prostitutes and then murder them. You know, that's kind of hard to digest."

[LAURENTIJ]

Yep, G4TV is incredible democrat.. Even though Tipper was PRMC HQ.

And now this.

But of course, the Republicans are anti-speech. They just 'know it'.

I like a lot of G4 shows, but man are they a bunch of leftwing fools.

[John Will]

If it was two Men, nothing would of been done, in fact the game would of been rewarded for "celebrating diversity".

[Rastus]

I can't hold too much against Morgan Webb, though. Praising Clinton really pushes it, but at least she bashed the Canadian health care system recently. I've got that much to hold on to. ;)

[commonasdirt]

"Doesn't she know that car thieves are oppressed victims of heartless Republican policies, and have to steal cars from The Rich to survive?"

Clearly they are proud foot soldiers in the war against oppression. Fighting "The Man". Right on!

Sorry Huntress, my response would not be near as humorous if I had left the "/sarcasm" at the end of your line. LOL

[Caipirabob]

Be careful before you click, this sight does not have nudity but the images aren't for kids.

The big thing with San Andreas is the "already legendary" HOT COFFEE MOD which I might add is not available with the original game. The user needs to modify or learn sercret codes to unlock the mod.

Still, it's basically a pornographic mini-game and IS INCLUDED in the original code. You just have to figure out how to unlock it so that the contents are playable.

This big concern in the end is that yeah, kids can eventually learn to unlock a pornographic sequence.

I guess the RS guys thought they were being swift by hiding the seqment of code but making it so that you could unlock it, then claim "Hey, we didn't release it that way".

Not too bright for a group of talented people, IMHO.

[leprechaun9]

I think C-SPAM shows more activities of the DOMESTIC TERRORISTS in the U.S. Congress (Hitlery, Schuuuuummmmer, Kennedy, Reid, Conyers, Dickhead Turbin, et al.) and there should be an investigation.

For example, the Democrap memo to impede the appointments to the Court to influence the outcome of the Michigan Afffirmative Action case. Senator Hatch, where is that investigation? You assisted the Democraps in turning those actions into a purge of a staffer who read their memos on the Senate computer system.

[AmericanChef]

I'll take a wild guess that it's liberal parents who allow their precious darlings to play those kind of games. At $50 a pop, kids are NOT spending their own money here, duh.

Hitlery manages to sound insincere even when she's telling the truth (IF she ever does, that is).

[doberville]

Spot on. You've got her number.

[Mia T]

For the children?
the clintons ARE pornography downloads

[Rastus]

It's rated M, so kids shouldn't be playing it anyway. I know the rating system doesn't have the force of law, but it is becoming increasingly important for parents to take those ratings seriously. Video games are moving the way of movies, where certain titles are in no way intended for children. Instead of trying to limit the creators, these various groups ought to be pressuring retailers to strictly enforce the ratings, and not sell to children. By pressure, I mean something like polite suggestion, boycotts, etc.--not lawsuits or legislation. It'll probably be an uphill battle, because I'm quite certain a child can walk into Best Buy and buy an R-rated movie with no hassles. Reminds me of the rise of those warning stickers on music. A clerk at Sound Warehouse was filmed by the local press selling the albums to minors, and he was summarily fired.

Anyway, if Hillary is upset with GTA, Narc would curl her toes. I have played neither, having no particular interest in these kinds of games, but I understand that, unlike GTA, Narc is not even redeemed by good gameplay.