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Hollywood
resists new ratings in anti-trust bill
Hollywood
is going through another fire drill on Capitol Hill,
this time over legislation, poised for a vote , that
would direct the entertainment industry to develop a
universal code of conduct to reduce the amount of sexually
explicit and violent product reaching kids.
The legislation would provide an anti-trust exemption
allowing the movie, music and vid-game industries to
come together and develop a common code of conduct.
Movie and music execs, weary from weeks of heat over
the issue, were caught off-guard when they learned that
the House of Representatives was getting ready to take
a full vote on the bill introduced.
They quickly sprung into action, appealing to House
leadership to pull the bill, at least temporarily. Lawmakers
did that and agreed to meet with industry representatives
to discuss the measure. It’s unclear exactly who
was at the meeting, but reps from at least several studios
and the music industry were present.
“There was a lot of churning,” said one Hollywood
exec of the talks.
As introduced, the bill would have asked both the U.S.
attorney general and the Federal Trade Commission chair
to report back to Congress in one year regarding the
efforts of the entertainment industry to develop and
enforce guidelines that ensure compliance with a rating
or labelling system. Such a common system would identify
and limit the dissemination of “sexual, violent
or other indecent material to children.”
The compromise bill would direct only the FTC chief
to report back to Congress on the progress of the various
industries in developing voluntary guidelines only.
Deleted was any reference to the enforcement of a new
ratings system. Studios have by no means signed off
on the latest version of the legislation despite the
changes, according to several execs close to the discussions.
Like many of their studio counterparts, music and vidgame
execs say their industry-specific labeling/rating systems
provide parents with the information they need to protect
their children, and that a universal code of conduct
is unworkable.
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