In the recent, never-ending quest by government to seize greater control of individual freedoms, the Golden State (of Excessive Regulations) sought to regulate the sale and rental of video games, attempting to subject them to different rules and regulations than books, movies, music or art.
Next Tuesday, while most are focused on the mid-term elections, the US Supreme Court will take up Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants Association/Entertainment Software Association. The issue is whether the California law imposing a fine of up to $1,000 for the sale or rental of a “violent video game” to a person under the age of 18 should stand after already being struck down by the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The law defines “violent video game” as one that “appeals to a deviant or morbid interest of minors”; offends community standards; and lacks “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.”
One might immediately recognize this definition as being very close to how the Supreme Court has defined “obscenity” (hence creating a class of expression not deserving First Amendment rights). But a court finding of obscenity has always included a sexual component. So California is asking to restrict free speech in a new way, a new restriction on liberty, by adding “violent” alongside sexual.
Perhaps most appalling though is the zeal for government control in the face of existing voluntary industry standards and the restriction of sales put in place by the video game industry—a system that has long been hailed in many quarters as THE standard of industry responsibility and self-regulation. And the greatest base of support for the current system? Parents, of which 98 percent report that the system is helpful, accurate and reliable.
Ultimately, no matter the layers of government control that hacks away at our guaranteed liberties, parental responsibility is the key. Virtually all credible research makes the same point: The key to protecting kids is a multilayered approach combining technology (which is already being deployed and available for free from entertainment software companies), law enforcement, caregiver oversight and private educational efforts such as the voluntary rating system.
When a politician argues that something is necessary to protect the children, you can almost always guarantee it’s time to hold onto your freedoms, your wallet or both. And so it goes in California.