You know what is confusing? Having all these different ratings floating around like some sort of rating harem. Which rating system are you supposed to trust? According to the U.S. government we shouldn’t trust any of them (except film). Bloomberg is reporting that U.S. regulators will be considering a single rating system for television, videogames and wireless telephones after an Aug. 31 report by the FCC is delivered to Congress. The government believes this is necessary to help protect the children from all the new and horrifying ways that they can watch inappropriate television and play inappropriate games. Did you know you can watch mature rated television on your 360! This is why children behave badly.
We probably won’t see a universal rating system for a long while, if ever. The FCC report isn’t making any recommendations, but simply stating that the FCC will be starting an inquiry in order to make recommendations later. Of course all the television, gaming and phone companies are against the possible proposal as they find the idea unnecessary because they already have ratings for their releases and a universal government run rating system would constitute “compelled speech in violation of the First Amendment.” There’s also no word on why movies seem to have been let off the hook despite being readily available on all three of the aforementioned platforms.
Meanwhile soldiers are dying in the middle east, healthcare is going down the crapper and the economy still sucks, but you keep using your time to take care of the important things, U.S. government.
[Thanks, WastelandTraveler]