H.R. 6265: Safer Guarding of Adolescents from Malicious Interactions on Network Games Act

This bill, known as the Safer Guarding of Adolescents from Malicious Interactions on Network Games Act or the Safer GAMING Act, aims to enhance the safety of minors who participate in online video gaming. The main components of the bill are as follows:

Definitions

The bill provides specific definitions for key terms, including:

• Adult user: A user of an online video game whom the provider knows is not a minor.
• Covered user: A minor user of an online video game that the provider knows is under 18 years old.
• Interactive online video game: A game that connects to the internet and allows user communication.
• Online video game provider: Any entity that provides interactive online games to consumers.

Safeguard Requirements

The bill mandates that online video game providers implement specific safeguards for the parents of covered users, aimed at limiting communication between minors and other users, including adults. The requirements include:

• The safeguards must be easy to access and use.
• They must be enabled by default for covered user accounts.
• Only a parent can disable these safeguards.

Enforcement

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will supervise compliance with these safeguards. If an online video game provider violates the bill's regulations, it will be treated as a violation of unfair or deceptive practices under the Federal Trade Commission Act. This section allows the FTC to impose penalties and enforce compliance.

State Actions

The bill allows state attorneys general to bring civil actions against online video game providers if they believe that the interests of residents in their state have been negatively affected by non-compliance. States can pursue various remedies, such as:

• Enjoining the act or practice.
• Enforcing compliance with the bill.
• Seeking damages or restitution for affected residents.

Preemption

The bill clarifies that no state laws can conflict with the provisions set out in this act, preventing states from creating their own regulations that would affect its implementation.

Effective Date

The requirements for safeguards will take effect one year after the bill is enacted.

Relevant Companies

• ATVI (Activision Blizzard, Inc.): As a major publisher of interactive online video games, Activision Blizzard could be required to enhance their parental controls and communication limitations for minors in their games.
• EA (Electronic Arts Inc.): Similar to Activision, Electronic Arts offers popular online games that may need to adjust their communication features to comply with new standards set by this bill.
• ZNGA (Zynga Inc.): As a provider of social and online games, Zynga will likely need to implement new safety measures for minor users to adhere to the bill's requirements.