ESA to Sue California Over Violent Game Law

Advtg writes "In response to last week's bill banning the sale of violent video games (/. coverage), the Entertainment Software Association has announced that they are preparing to sue the State of California. From the article, "The Entertainment Software Association is planning to sue the State of California over the passage of AB1179, a bill that has outlawed the sale of violent video games to minors. President Douglas Lowenstein said that he 'intends to file a lawsuit to strike this law down,' and added that he is 'confident that we will prevail.' The article goes on to show how muddy the law is in comparison to other laws meant to protect minors."

Comments

Re:CIPA is a bad example

[Agelmar]

It was found unconstitutional, but not because the wording for what it blocked was vague. It was found unconstitutional because current filters (NetNanny etc) are rather lacking, have too many false positives, and would therefore filter out legitimate pages. And apparently school libraries are still covered under the CIPA provisions.

Re:Whats next?

[sqlrob]

There is no law preventing minors from going to see or buy R rated movies, and there's no rating on books either. That's part of the point of objecting to this law.

Lowenstein has a Track Record Here

[ewhac]

I have little doubt the law will be struck down. Lowenstein and the ESA have an excellent track record of going into states that have enacted similar wrong-headed laws and had them struck down. Not only is it a clear violation of the First Amendment, it unfairly and unnecessarily targets video games, while leaving other forms of popular media (movies, books, music) unaddressed. From a legal standpoint, this is indefensible, so the state doesn't stand much of a chance.

Schwab
California Resident