Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, says that the videogame industry's self-regulatory efforts around the marketing of violent video games to minors are still "far from perfect."
According to a report filed to Congress on Thursday, the videogame industry still has a long way to go when limiting ad placement on web sites aimed toward kids and teenagers. The FTC also noted that some minors are able to buy M-rated games by using retailer gift cards online. And it cited the big growth in mobile content as a unique challenge, noting that some mobile companies and app stores don't provide rating systems for their games.
Still, the report wasn't entirely negative: The FTC found that many publishers were following advertising rules closely. Moreover, the retailer refusal rate for kids trying to buy M-rated games held high at an average of 80 percent.
That's good news for retailers and game makers trying to keep their noses clean, a bummer for the sixteen-year-old with a car and part-time job who gets hassled when they try to buy Halo 3: ODST.
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