U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton plans to introduce legislation to help keep video games with pornographic and violent content out of the hands of children in the wake of a controversy over the popular “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” video game.
She has also called on U.S. authorities to investigate the source of sexually explicit content in the game.
The trouble started from a software modification dubbed ‘Hot Coffee’ that allows users to play sexually explicit mini-games on Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. It was allegedly developed by hackers and is readily available on the Internet.
Clinton said such material makes it tough on parents to keep pornographic material away from children. The New York senator plans to push for tougher enforcement of existing video game ratings as well as a US$5,000 penalty on retailers that fail to prohibit sale of violent and sexually explicit games to minors, she said in a statement on her Web site.
The proposed legislation would target last year’s number one video game. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for Sony’s PlayStation 2 was the best seller for the entire industry in 2004, according to the NPD Group, a market research group.
Clinton also called on regulators to revise its rating on the game to AO (Adults Only), only for those over 18, rather than the current M (Mature), which is for anyone 17 or older.