Congressional Record
THE MEDIA MARKETING ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2001
April 26, 2001

Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I rise today with my colleague Senator Lieberman to introduce the Media Marketing Accountability Act of 2001. For too long, the entertainment industry has drawn a bullseye on our children's backs, targeting them with violent video games, movies and music. Media violence has a clear and dangerous effect on our children, and it must be curbed.

Last fall's Federal Trade Commission report confirmed some of our worst fears. It found that more than 70 percent of movie, video game and music companies aggressively marketed their violent, adult-rated products to children. And while this week's report showed some meaningful progress, the ``snapshot'' it took didn't exactly reveal a pretty picture. Last fall, Senator Lieberman and I pledged not to sit by idly. Today we're here to make good on our promise.

This legislation is simple. It targets the worst behavior. The entertainment industry won't be able to speak out of both sides of their mouths anymore, saying that a product is harmful to children, but then luring them into the theaters or stores to see it or buy it. This bill gives the Federal Trade Commission the authority it needs to go after the bad actors who try to mislead our families and our children.

Let me be a little more specific about what the bill does. This legislation gives the FTC the authority to prosecute entertainment companies for deceptive trade practices if they target adult-rated entertainment to children. This legislation doesn't create a whole new structure of rules and punishments; it simply adds this bad behavior by entertainment companies to a list of misconduct that the FTC already has the power to punish.

But the bill also rewards companies for good behavior. It includes a safe harbor which shields companies from prosecution if they already abide by a self-regulatory system that includes an age-based rating system, prohibits the marketing of adult rated material to children, and punishes for non-compliance. Finally, the legislation calls for two additional studies by the FTC over the next six years.

Let me give you a concrete example of the type of behavior this bill aims to prohibit. Last fall's report uncovered a film industry practice of including young children in the test groups for R-rated films. Studios asked ten-year-olds to explain what they like about a violent, R-rated movie, and then the studio used the feedback to tailor their advertising campaign to lure youngsters into the theaters. We all agree this behavior is just plain wrong, and it is this kind of behavior that our legislation will penalize.

Our bill does not touch the content produced by the industry, it simply targets specific, egregious behavior. After all, no one is saying that the entertainment industry doesn't produce high-quality and important products. But we all agree that not every product is appropriate for children, and the Federal Government has a legitimate interest in protecting children, a vulnerable audience, from being targeted with violent and vulgar content that the industry itself has identified as inappropriate. Our narrowly tailored legislation will help protect children and families from this kind of deception.

Finally, our bill should not discourage the entertainment industry from rating its products. To begin with, companies that are already regulating themselves effectively will qualify for protection under our safe harbor. The industry's threat to alter or eliminate their rating systems is as irresponsible to families as the behavior we're trying to prohibit with this measure. But beyond that, enactment of this legislation would not translate to constant legal action against the entertainment industry. The Federal Trade Commission would only prosecute those companies who have clearly and flagrantly targeted children with adult-rated material. As long as companies advertise their adult-rated products to a logical target audience, they should have no concern about this legislation.

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