Video Games Harmful To Health, Claims Proposed Package Label

Many video games will carry a health warning label, if legislation proposed by Congressman Joe Baca (D-CA) succeeds. Baca, along with co-sponsor Frank R. Wolf (R-VA), has proposed the Video Game Health Labeling Act of 2009 (HR 231), which would create a Consumer Product Safety Commission-enforced rule mandating a label on all games rated T for Teen or M for Mature by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. The label would read, "WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior." As of last year, T- and M-rated games comprised about a quarter of all titles rated by the ESRB. "The video game industry has a responsibility to parents, families, and to consumers – to inform them of the potentially damaging content that is often found in their products," said Baca, who boasted in a press release that he is "a lead advocate in Congress" on media content issues. "They have repeatedly failed to live up to this responsibility. Meanwhile research continues to show a proven link between playing violent games and increased aggression in young people. American families deserve to know the truth about these potentially dangerous products." Baca cites studies from the Pediatrics Journal, the University of Indiana, the University of Missouri, and Michigan State University, claiming "a neurological link between playing violent video games and aggressive behavior." The claim made by Baca and his proposed label has long been a subject of public contention, frequently leading to game-related legislation, most of which fails to pass or is eventually struck down.