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  1. #1
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    Activision Blizzard Policy Maker Rails Against CA Law

    Another gem from GamePolitics.

    Activision Blizzard Policy Maker Rails Against California Law



    George Rose, Activision Blizzard’s Chief Public Policy Officer penned a column for the Orange County Register in which he called the California law at the heart of Schwarzenegger vs. EMA “onerous,” and unnecessary.”

    Rose claimed that a SCOTUS approval of the law would “hijack” the First Amendment rights of young people “by unjustifiably creating a special exception to unprotected free speech not only for video games, but any other form of expression.”

    He also worried that the law would put “innocent store clerks at serious legal and financial risk,” all for a law that is “already moot.”

    Rose explained:

    "Our industry has in place nationwide a program that costs taxpayers nothing and that is better and more effective at making sure kids purchase age-appropriate games than anything the government is likely to ever come up with."

    Rose also wondered how lawmakers and politicians would determine what exactly constitutes a violent game, writing:

    "Knowing state bureaucrats, such decisions are likely to be consistently made on their extensive educated experience with violence and social and cultural merits of works of art."

    After reigning further praise on both the industry and ESRB’s efforts in enforcing ratings at retail, Rose took a few shots at California’s financial difficulties:

    "So what more could California want than a successful, privately funded program, especially when the state sometimes has trouble making payroll? California is a state with a history of budget shortfalls, IOUs, furloughed workers, closed DMV offices, shuttered courts, squeezed school districts where children wait weeks to start school, pummeled university budgets, stretched health care resources and cities without enough money to properly fund their police and fire needs. They all can use state dollars that would be wasted here."

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    Re: Activision Blizzard Policy Maker Rails Against CA Law

    The sad part is that he's right...and needs to spell it out like this.


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    California ban on sale of 'violent' video games to children rejected

    Looks like this case has come to a close. Score one for the gaming industry.

    http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/27/sco...html?hpt=hp_t2

    EDIT: Here is the link to the official decision, all 92 pages of it. I think the first page tells all, and here's an excerpt from it.

    SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
    Syllabus

    BROWN, GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA, ET AL. v. ENTERTAINMENT MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION ET AL.

    CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
    No. 08–1448. Argued November 2, 2010—Decided June 27, 2011

    Respondents, representing the video-game and software industries, filed a preenforcement challenge to a California law that restricts thesale or rental of violent video games to minors. The Federal District Court concluded that the Act violated the First Amendment and permanently enjoined its enforcement. The Ninth Circuit affirmed.
    Held: The Act does not comport with the First Amendment. Pp. 2–18.

    (a) Video games qualify for First Amendment protection. Like pro-tected books, plays, and movies, they communicate ideas through fa-miliar literary devices and features distinctive to the medium. And “the basic principles of freedom of speech . . . do not vary” with a newand different communication medium. Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wil-son, 343 U. S. 495, 503. The most basic principle—that governmentlacks the power to restrict expression because of its message, ideas,subject matter, or content, Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Un-ion, 535 U. S. 564, 573—is subject to a few limited exceptions for his-torically unprotected speech, such as obscenity, incitement, and fight-ing words.
    Last edited by River_Rat_459; 06-27-2011 at 10:10. Reason: Adding link to decision PDF

    Indecision may or may not be my problem.

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    Good, maybe people can start holding accountable the people who are responsible for m rated games being played by kids. The parents.

    Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk


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