President Trump will meet with executives of the video game industry next week to discuss school violence in response to the deadly shooting in Parkland, Fla., the White House announced on Thursday.
“Next week he’ll also be meeting with members of the video game industry to see what they can do on that front as well,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters.
“This is going to be an ongoing process and something that we don’t expect to happen overnight. But something that we’re going to be engaged in and continue to look for the best ways possible to make sure we’re doing everything we can to protect schools across the country,” she said.
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However, the Entertainment Software Association – which represents major video game names such as Nintendo, PlayStation, Microsoft, Activision and Electronic Arts – said that neither it nor its member companies have received an invitation to meet with Trump.
“The same video games played in the US are played worldwide; however, the level of gun violence is exponentially higher in the US than in other countries. Numerous authorities have examined the scientific record and found there is no link between media content and real-life violence,” the group said in a statement Thursday.
“The US video game industry has a long history of partnering with parents and more than 20 years of rating video games through the Entertainment Software Rating Board. We take great steps to provide tools to help players and parents make informed entertainment decisions,” it added.
At a recent meeting at the White House with lawmakers and administration officials, Trump raised concern about the influence of violence in movies and video games. He floated the idea of launching a ratings system, which already exists for both games and films in the United States.
“I’m hearing more and more people say the level of violence on video games is really shaping young people’s thoughts. And you go one further step and that’s the movies. … Maybe they have to put a rating system for that,” Trump said at last week’s White House meeting.
The president additionally met with a group of lawmakers from both parties at the White House on Wednesday where he called on Congress to pass a host of gun restrictions, putting him at odds with most Republicans and the National Rifle Association.
The meeting comes a few weeks after the Feb. 14 high school shooting in Florida that left 17 people dead and more than a dozen injured.
Updated: 8:25 p.m.