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Friday, December 30, 2005

Indiana latest to try game law

The proposed legislation would require video game retailers to place 2" square black and white labels on violent and/or sexual video games, with the labels reading "18."
While I do support the labeling aspect of the bill, several other aspects leave too many holes in this legislation. Specifically, Indiana State Senator Dennis Kruse (R) forgot to consider how the ESRB - the national board that already handles game labeling - fits into the equation. Further it leaves sexually explicit games up in the air:
(2) the average person, applying contemporary community standards with respect to minors, would find:
(A) is designed to appeal to the prurient interest; and
(B) depicts or simulates:
(i) sexual conduct; or
(ii) nudity;
in a manner patently offensive to minors.
Considering that there is no "average" person in America, and that standards vary from community to commmunity, this piece of the legislation is just too open to interpretation. I would like to see Kruse rewrite the bill to let the ESRB make the decisions (that it already does...) and make it a bill to simply force retailers to ID minors trying to purchase M or AO ESRB-rated games, and keep those minors from purchasing games that they shouldn't be playing without parental permission.

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