Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut has introduced a bill, 'The Media Marketing Accountability Act of 2001,' which has ramifications for several sectors of the pop culture marketplace. Basically the bill states that 'targeted advertising or other marketing' of movies, video games, or musical recordings that are rated by the industry itself as 'adult' or 'restricted' to inappropriate age groups is a 'deceptive practice, and when determined as such by the Federal Trade Commission,' punishable by fines of up to $11,000 per day. While this bill currently has no Republican co-sponsors, and hence little chance of passage, the Republicans, who don't want to increase federal regulations, but also don't want to provide the Democrats with a political issue, are strongly urging the various entertainment industries in question to create industry associations that will do exactly what the Lieberman bill wants the FTC to do.
Industry self-censorship is the time-honored American response to attacks on the entertainment industry. The adoption of the Movie Code in 1934 came in response to threats of boycotts by religious groups, while the Comics Code was established in 1954 after Congressional hearings during which legislators strongly suggested that the industry regulate itself. Does this historical imperative mean that Hollywood will set up an industry-wide oversight of all marketing efforts? Not if they can help it, judging by the apoplectic response of industry spokesman Jack Valenti. Valenti called the Lieberman bill a clear violation of the First Amendment right to free speech, and he rashly promised to eliminate the MPAA code rather than see it used to abrogate free speech.
The possible ramifications if the Lieberman Bill became law are serious. If it is a crime to expose an underage child to an advertisement for an 'R' or even 'PG' rated film, then how much worse is it to actually sell or rent that film to someone who might be a year or two under the 'age-appropriate guidelines.' As ICv2 has reported (see 'States Target Stores Selling Videos, Theaters' ) bills making it a crime to sell or rent videos to anyone underage (determined by the ratings guidelines themselves) have been introduced in several State Legislatures. And various media outlets have been conducting stings to demonstrate that stores are not currently enforcing age guidelines on comics and videos (see, most recently, 'Another TV Station Takes on Anime'). The question is should it be a crime to sell or advertise Schindler's List to a 16-year-old? It is simply impossible to craft legislation employing rating systems like the MPAA's to create criminal offenses without also creating absurdities like fining an individual for selling Saving Private Ryan to a 16-year-old.
