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The Hot Coffee scandal looks to be over, with the FTC ruling that the publisher “failed to disclose important information about the game’s content to consumers.” However, no fine was imposed.
“Parents have the right to rely on the accuracy of the entertainment rating system,” said Lydia Parnes, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We allege that Take-Two and Rockstar’s actions undermined the industry’s own rating system and deceived consumers.“
Take-Two and Rockstar weren’t issued a fine, but have been warned of the consequences for future misrepresentation, notably that they “cannot misrepresent the rating or content descriptors for an electronic game,” and must “clearly and prominently disclose on product packaging and in any promotion or advertisement for electronic games, content relevant to the rating, unless that content had been disclosed sufficiently in prior submissions to the rating authority.“
Lastly the publishers have been ordered by the FTC to “establish, implement, and maintain a comprehensive system reasonably designed to ensure that all content in an electronic game is considered and reviewed in preparing submissions to a rating authority.“
The FTC stressed how serious the matter was, with any violation of the order resulting in a fine of $11,000 per violation.
