During the trials, the U.S. government threatened to regulate the film industry with censorship rules and guidelines for how stars were allowed to behave on and off screen. Fearing government intrusion, the studios chose to self-regulate. They created the Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA), naming former Postmaster General Will Hays as president. This led to the βHays Code,β the first official censor of American movies.