Avian Gamers Network

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) has officially entered the Hot Coffee fray. This morning in Washington, the junior Senator from New York said she was calling on the Federal Trade Commission to "take immediate action to determine the source of graphic pornographic and violent content appearing on the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game."

Clinton joins the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), The National Institute on Media and the Family, and the Australian government's Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) who are all seeking to determine if the "Hot Coffee" mod unlocks game code already present in San Andreas. GTA publisher Rockstar Games contends the mod enters the sexually explicit minigames into the game, in violation of the game's users' agreement.

In addition to asking the FTC to look into the San Andreas mod, Clinton has also asked the FTC to "determine whether an Adults Only (AO) rating is more appropriate than the current Mature (M) rating for the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game given this new, alarming content." She is also asking that the FTC "examine the adequacy of retailers' rating enforcement policies."

Not stopping there, Clinton said she would soon author a bill to create a federal law that would "put some teeth into video game ratings." Reminiscent of a California bill introduced by Assemblyman Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) and similar measures in several other states, the legislation will "prohibit the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors" and make such action a federal offense. Clinton said the penalty for violating the law would be a mandatory $5,000 fine.