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Resolution: Report on Implementation of Retail Policies
2004 Shareholder Resolution approved by the Advisory Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility (ACCSR)
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Resolution:
Report on Implementation of Retail Policies
WHEREAS:
A statement to Congress by the American Medical Association, the
American Academy of Pediatrics, and other organizations
expressed the consensus of the public health community with
respect to the impact of entertainment violence on children:
"Children exposed to violent programming at a young age have a
higher tendency for violent and aggressive behavior later in
life than children who are not so exposed." (Joint Statement on
the Impact of Entertainment Violence on Children, Congressional
Public Health Summit, July 2000);
"The overwhelming trend in the research to date indicates that there are three major effects of exposure to violence in media: increased aggression and violent behavior; the 'mean world' syndrome, the concept that media inflates the prevalence of violence in the world and makes kids afraid; and desensitization towards violence." (Dr. Michael Rich, American Academy of Pediatrics, presentation at Federal Trade Commission workshop on Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children, October 2003);
"Video games, by virtue of being immersive, interactive, and enhanced with sensorimotor activity…may have an even more powerful influence on violent attitudes and behaviors." (Dr. Rich, American Academy of Pediatrics, testimony to Chicago City Council, October 30, 2000);
A study of over 600 adolescents found that adolescents who exposed themselves to greater amounts of video game violence were more hostile, were more likely to be involved in physical fights and performed more poorly in school. (Gentile et.al., Journal of Adolescence, 27 (2004);
The Entertainment Software Rating Board has developed a rating system for computer games that includes a rating symbol that indicates age-appropriateness (e.g., "AO" for adults only, "M" or "Mature" for 17 and older, "T" or "Teen" for 13 and older), and content descriptors that describe elements in a game's content that influenced its rating;
A Federal Trade Commission "Mystery Shopper" survey found that 69% of unaccompanied minors were able to purchase Mature-rated video games in stores. (Federal Trade Commission, October 2003)
A New York City Council Investigation Division report found that "minors were able to purchase Mature-rated video games at 34 of the 35 stores visited… A young person can walk into almost any store selling video games in New York City and purchase games that encourage and reward them for performing acts of violence and brutality that include beating women, shooting cops and committing racially motivated acts of violence." The report concluded: "retailers must make a real commitment to keeping video games with graphic violence or strong sexual content out of the hands of children. (Parents Beware: Retail stores ignore video game ratings, New York City Council Committee on Oversight and Investigations, December 2003);
RESOLVED:
Shareholders request that, in view of the New York City Council
report, the Board of Directors report on the implementation of
the corporation's policies regarding the sale of Mature-rated
video games to children and teens.
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