As reported during the weekend, the Supreme Court started examining legislation from California that would make the sale of violent video games to minors illegal.
The Schwarzenegger vs EMA case landed in the highest court in the United States and the reaction of the court can only fairly be described as very critical. Justice Antonin Scalia in particular had a lot of questions to ask the California attorney general, who was arguing for the law previously declared unconstitutional by a lower court.
“I am concerned with the First Amendment, which says Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech,” Scalia said. “It was always understood that the freedom of speech did not include obscenity. It has never been understood that the freedom of speech did not include portrayals of violence. You are asking us to create a whole new prohibition. What’s next after violence? Drinking? Movies that show drinking? Smoking?”
Scalia also took issue with the use of the term “deviant violent videogames” used by proponents of the law. “As opposed to what? A normal violent videogame?” asked Scalia. “Some of the Grimm’s fairy tales are quite grim, to tell you the truth… Are you going to ban them too?” he added.
President Obama’s Supreme Court picks, Justice Elana Kagan and Justice Sonia Sotomayor, also pressured California attorney general, Zackery Morazzimi. “One of the studies, the Anderson study, says that the effect of violence is the same for a Bugs Bunny episode as it is for a violent video. So can the legislature now, because it has that study, outlaw Bugs Bunny?” Sotomayor said.
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Result for: prohibition
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is inviting everyone who is opposed to the anti-counterfeiting trade agreement (ACTA), or to provisions of ACTA (or how it is being negotiated) to support a “firm, simple declaration against ACTA.” People can sign the declaration which includes 11 demands about ACTA if it is to be implemented, or provides an alternative of abandoning ACTA entirely.
The FSF does not want to seem opposed to the Wellington Declaration however, but a post from Richard Stallman of FSF does point out some details about it that he “cannot put his name to.” New Zealand citizens held a public meeting dubbed PublicACTA to criticize a secret meeting of government representatives. The attendees published the Wellington Declaration (which you can sign), calling on the negotiators to reject several injustices suspected to appear in the controversial treaty.
Stallman however points out that while the Wellington Declaration condemns the plan for ACTA to prohibit devices that can break digital restrictions (DRM, digital handcuffs etc.), it goes ahead to suggest instead that a limited prohibition, along the lines of Article 11 of the WIPO Internet Treaty. This would result in government backing being given to certain kinds of digital handcuffs, according to Stallman, and he is concerned that to accept that much without a fight would tempt ACTA negotiators to try for “more.”
He also takes issue with the declaration’s praise of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) as a “public, inclusive and transparent” forum for negotiation agreements about copyrights and other related issued. “I don’t recall seeing WIPO become a force for good in the world,” Stallman comments.
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Result for: prohibition
A new bill has just passed in New York that will allow a governmental advisory council to “examine the potential impact of violent videogames” and now heads off to the Governor before it can become a law. It passed almost unanimously in the Senate by a 61-1 vote.
If Governor David Paterson signs the bill, then the law will go into effect September 1st, 2010. The legislation will require that all console systems be equipped with parental controls and that ESRB ratings must be displayed on packaging. These practices are already standard, but neither is by bound by law and are done voluntarily.
The advisory council will consist of 16 members and will get to make recommendations regarding the current ESRB rating system. They can also offer “a parent-teacher violence awareness program to identify and appropriately assist students who may have a propensity toward violence.”
Senator Andrew Lanza added of the bill, “There is some confusion with respect to what this bill actually accomplishes… The word prohibition was talked about. I want to be clear. This bill does not prohibit the sale of any video to anyone.”
“This simply says that every video game sold in the state of New York simply should have a rating consistent with what the ESRB does presently in a voluntary way… it does work. But the problem with ‘voluntary’ is that tomorrow someone can change their mind. Someone could decide tomorrow to no longer place ratings on these games. So this is not about prohibiting the sale, this is simply about providing information to parents.”
