Book People, Inc. v. Wong
The U.S. District Court issued an injunction on a Texas law that would require publishers and booksellers to assign ratings to certain books, which would they then be barred from selling to school libraries.
Category: ratings enforcement
Pennsylvania House Bill 109
H.B. 109 would impose a 10 percent tax on the sale of any video game rated “Mature” or “Adults Only” by the video game industry rating system.
Pennsylvania House Bill 2705
Pennsylvania state Rep. Christopher B. Quinn, R-Media, released a memorandum on September 25, 2018 stating his intent “to introduce legislation which would assess a 10% sales tax on video games that contains violent material.”
Rhode Island Senate Bill 2156
Rhode Island S.B. 2156 would make it illegal to sell or rent a video game rated M to anyone under 17 years old or a video game rated AO to anyone under 18. It would also make it illegal to sell or rent a “sexually explicit” or “violent” video game to a minor.
Iowa Senate File 410
Iowa S.F. 410 would require public libraries to bar minors from renting material that has been rated R, NC-17 or a comparable rating by the MPAA and the ESRB.
Alabama House Bill 39
Alabama H.B. 39 would impose a 40 percent tax on “harmful to minors” material, with the exception of movies rated “R” or “NC-17.” It would also impose a 10 percent tax on sexually oriented material.
New York Assembly Bill 11717
New York A.B. 11717 would bar any retailer from selling or renting any video game that has been rated if its rating is not prominently displayed on its cover or jacket.
Utah House Bill 353
Utah H.B. 353 would allow video game retailers to be sued if they advertise that they will adhere to the private ESRB rating system but fail to do so.
Washington House Bill 2103
Washington H.B. 2103 would impose a sales tax on “adult entertainment material” and define “adult” material as any material that is primarily interested in sex, using sex acts that would merit an “X” rating from the Motion Picture Association of America as a benchmark.
Tennessee Senate Bill 2860 and House Bill 3081
Tennessee S.B. 2860 and H.B. 3081 would impose a 25% tax on any material “harmful to minors”; any material sold or rented at a store with an “adults only” section; and any movies with “sexually explicit” content, with the exception of movies rated “R” or “NC-17″ by the Motion Picture Association of America.
Oklahoma House Bill 2696
Oklahoma H.B. 2696 would impose a 1% excise tax on violent video games. This tax would be added on top of already existing state or local taxes imposed on general merchandise.
Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association
In striking down a California law that banned video games with violent content, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that all violent content is fully protected by the First Amendment for both adults and minors. The landmark ruling also set precedent that video games have the same First Amendment protection as other media. The 9th Circuit had previously ruled that the law’s labeling requirement is unconstitutional compelled speech and a content-based requirement.
Entertainment Software Association v. Swanson
The 8th Circuit struck down a Minnesota law that restricted the sale of rental of games rated “M” or “AO” for any content, including violence, to anyone under 17 and imposed a $25 fine on any minor purchasing or renting a restricted game.
Entertainment Software Association v. Blagojevich
The 7th Circuit upheld a U.S. District Court decision striking down an Illinois law that banned the sale or rental of video games with sexually explicit content to minors beyond what may be restricted by the Supreme Court. The District Court had previously ruled a provision in the law that banned the sale or rental of video games with violent content to minors unconstitutional, which the state did not appeal in the 7th Circuit.
