Wednesday, May 21, 2003

Law limits some violent video games
Measure bans sales to those under 17; group vows to sue

By DAN RICHMAN
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Washington yesterday became the first state to enact a law against renting or selling some violent computer games to children under 17. Within hours after it was signed by Gov. Gary Locke, one trade group pledged to block the law as an unconstitutional infringement on minors' rights.

About a dozen other states, cities or counties have tried regulating violent computer games, only to have courts knock down their laws as violations of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

But Washington's new law is more narrowly drawn than many and so is more likely to survive judicial scrutiny, said its principal sponsor, Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, D-Seattle.

The federal court battle here this summer could help define the limits of a government's power to regulate violence in the relatively new medium of video games.

It's already well established that the First Amendment forbids such regulation in more traditional media like books, music and movies.

House Bill 1009, known as the Videogame Violence Bill, will go into effect July 27 unless a lawsuit by the Washington, D.C.-based Interactive Digital Software Association, set to be filed within the next few weeks, halts its implementation before then.

That group represents about 25 makers of computer games.

The new law levies a fine of up to $500 on any person who rents or sells to someone 17 or under computer games in which the player kills or injures "a human form who is depicted, by dress or other recognizable symbols, as a public law enforcement officer." Police officers and fire fighters are included in that category.

"It is important to foster an environment where young people respect those who uphold the law," Locke said in a prepared statement.To enforce the new law, police officers can issue a ticket on the spot if they witness an unlawful sale or rental, or they can go into court, file a written statement and obtain a ticket from the court, which they then deliver to the alleged wrongdoer. It's unclear even to lawmakers in Olympia whether consumers can call police and report a violation.

The law's 15 sponsors cite an increasing number of studies linking an exposure to violent computer games with hostile and antisocial behavior. They also cite a need to foster respect for public law enforcement officers.

"This law is a big deal, and it has an absolutely excellent chance of surviving court challenges," Dickerson said.

To survive, laws restricting expression must be very narrow in their scope and must serve a legitimate purpose. Opponents of Washington's law disagree that it's narrowly enough written.

"Does it apply to Army officers? What about a plainclothes policeman chasing other policemen who went bad?" asked Douglas Lowenstein, president of the game makers' trade association.

In any case, with the games up to 80 hours long, it's "utterly impossible" for retailers to know whether a game might run afoul of the law, he said.

He said the proper approach to regulating the amount of violence minors see is to educate parents about the ratings that computer games voluntarily carry and to urge retailers to stringently enforce those voluntary ratings.

"We're not unsympathetic to the broad concept of making sure kids don't get inappropriate games, but violent content is protected speech under the First Amendment," Lowenstein said. "Over 80 percent of the time, parents are involved in the rental of video games. You want to solve this problem, you can go this unconstitutional route, or you can educate parents and encourage retailers to enforce the rating."

The rating system isn't even at 50 percent effectiveness yet, Lowenstein acknowledged.

Under a system administered by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, video game makers rate their games E (for ages 6 and over), T (13 and over), M (17 and over), EC (3 and older) and AO (18 and older). Retailers aren't obligated by law to educate customers about the system, though, and no law requires them to enforce it.

Similarly, no laws enforce the self-imposed ratings used for movies in theatres and on rentals, though the outcry against such violence is far less.

Unlike movie theatres, with a single point of entry, video stores frequently have large staffs that receive minimal training and experience large customer volumes. So educating and enforcing the standards "is not as simple as people want it to be," Lowenstein said.

At computer game retailer GameStop, in Northgate Plaza, about 20 titles out of the store's 500-game inventory depict violence to police officers, said manager Edward Wickard. He said the store is careful not to rent or sell violent titles to minors. But too often, he said, he sees parents renting violent games for their minor children.

"Parents have this preconceived attitude that all games are OK and not violent," he said. "My God, some of them are really violent. Unless the parents actually do research on the games, (the law) won't help."

VIOLENT GAMES

At least 30 video games portray the killing of police officers, according to video-gaming Web site IGN.com. A sampling: