There has been too little serious public policy debate
concerning how best to reduce exposure of children and youth to
media violence. Many of the debates that have occurred in
Congress, the popular press, and conferences have often focused
on whether there is sufficient scientific evidence of harmful
effects to support public policy actions. Some debates have
conflated other public policy issues with the basic scientific
question of whether there are significant harmful effects. Some
U.S. First Amendment proponents who are vociferous critics of
media violence research do not seem to understand that the
scientific question (Are there harmful effects?) is different
from the legal question (Are proposed policies legal under the
U.S. Constitution?). As the medical, public health, and
psychological scientific communities have repeatedly stated, the
scientific debate about whether there are harmful effects of
media violence is over. We believe that it is time to move on to
the more difficult public policy question