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16 Fla. A & M U. L. Rev. 47 (2021-2022)
Video Games and the Federal Trade Commission Act: An Analysis of the Practices of Video Game Developers and Their Effects on Players

handle is hein.journals/floramulr16 and id is 56 raw text is: VIDEO GAMES AND THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ACT: AN ANALYSIS OF THE PRACTICES OF VIDEO GAME DEVELOPERS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON PLAYERS Sydny K. Arneaudt TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ................................................... 47 R I. THE HISTORY AND SCOPE OF THE FTC..................... 49 R A. The Wheeler-Lea Amendment ......................... 50 R B. The Scope of the Commission ......................... 52 R II. PROBLEMATIC PRACTICES IN THE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY ... 53 R A. Visual Misrepresentations ............................ 56 R B. Gameplay Misrepresentations ......................... 60 R CONCLUSION .................................................... 64 R INTRODUCTION Video games have become an increasingly popular hobby for a swiftly growing range of people.' Children and adults of all ages purchase and play games for a multitude of reasons including mental stimulation, improving problem solving, relaxation, and stress relief2 t Sydny Arneaud is a Juris Doctor candidate currently in her third year at the Flor- ida A&M University College of Law. She received her bachelor's degree in Political Science: Pre-Law from the University of Central Florida and presently serves as a law clerk under Judge Faye Allen of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. 1. Compare Dmitri Williams et al., Who Plays, How Much, and Why? Debunking the Stereotypical Gamer Profile, 13 J. OF COMPUT.-MEDIATED COMMC'N 993, 993 (2008), https:// academic.oup.com/jcmc/article/13/4/993/4583542 (40% of adults are now regular players, compared to 83% of teenagers.); Ent. Software Ass'n, 2020 ESSENTIAL FACTS ABOUT THE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY 5 (July 2020), https://www.theesa.convwp-content/uploads/2021/03/ Final-Edited-2020-ESA_Essential_facts.pdf (reporting the total number of video gamers in the United States in 2020 was 214 million), with Ent. Software Ass'n, 2021 ESSENTIAL FACTS ABOUT THE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY 4 (August 2021), https://www.theesa.com/wp-con- tent/uploads/2021/08/2021-Essential-Facts-About-the-Video-Game-Industry- 1.pdf (reporting the total number of video gamers just one year later as 227 million). 2. 2020 ESSENTIAL FACTS ABOUT THE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY, supra note 1, at 4, 7; 2021 ESSENTIAL FACTS ABOUT THE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY, supra note 1, at 6. 47