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US Supreme Court: Video Games Qualify For First Amendment

Wrath0fb0b writes "The United States Supreme Court threw out a California law prohibiting the sale of violent video games to minors. Notable in the opinion is a historical review of the condemnation of "unworthy" material that would tend to corrupt children, starting with penny-novels and up through comic books and music lyrics. The opinion is also notable for the odd lineup of Justices that defies normal ideological lines, with one conservative and one liberal jurist dissenting on entirely different grounds. In the process, they continue the broad rule that the First Amendment does not vary with the technological means used: 'Video games qualify for First Amendment protection. Like protected books, plays, and movies, they communicate ideas through familiar literary devices and features distinctive to the medium. And the basic principles of freedom of speech... do not vary with a new and different communication medium.'"

2 of 458 comments (clear)

  1. Re:The fall of the free empire by nschubach · · Score: 1, Funny

    Daniel "Dee" Snider would not be referred to as "her."

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    Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.
  2. Re:The fall of the free empire by nschubach · · Score: 1, Funny

    Sorry. Reading comprehension fail on my part.

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    Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.