In September of 2001, the FTC released a report titled Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children. This report focused on self-regulation of advertising and ratings in the music, video game, and movie industries. Last week, the FTC issued a follow-up report that tracks progress in each industry. Here is a run-down of the good and bad news:
Movies
- Good News: Many movie studios will not advertise their movies during TV shows where more than 35% of the audience is under age 17.
- Bad News: Retailers have not made much progress in restricting the sales of R-rated DVDs to unaccompanied minors.
Music
- Good News: The music industry has refrained from advertising in magazines popular with teens.
- Bad News: Since music warning labels are not age-based, there are no restrictions on advertising music with explicit content in media popular with children.
Video Games
- Good News: There are fewer ads for M-rated games on TV shows popular with teens; more than 70% of parents use the ESRB rating system.
- Bad News: Ads for M-rated games are often shown on websites popular with teens; content descriptors could be put on the front of the video game packaging.
See full report (pdf)
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