Stricter EU rules for violent games
p2pnet.net news:- The European Commission wants sanctions against retailers selling “killer games” to children, but they’ll probably leave it to individual member states to identify what should be interdicted.
Discussions among European Union justice ministers, yesterday, included suggestions for developing stricter rules violent video and computer games but, “ministers were unlikely to agree on common standards,” German justice minister Brigitte Zypries said before the meeting began, according to EUX.TV.
“Zypries, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, said that legal standards across the 27-member bloc were too different to agree a joint regulation and that she expected governments to commit themselves voluntarily to apply stricter rules on the sale of killer games,” says the story
Germany has, “put the initiative high on its agenda after last November’s incident in a North German town where an 18-year old computer games addict wounded 11 students at his school before killing himself,” it continues.
This refers to the tragedy, late last year, when 18-year-old Sebastian Bosse killed four students, a school janitor and then himself.
But, says EUX.TV, the EU executive has said it wouldn’t rule on precisely what kinds of material should be banned for younger children,.
“The industry currently operates a self-regulated ratings system for video and computer games,” says the story.
However, it adds, most EU retailers aren’t legally bound to restrict the sale of adult-classified products and, “The bloc’s 27 member states also differ widely on how they judge unacceptable material.”
Also See:
EUX.TV – EU ministers discuss stricter rules on sale of “killer games”, June 13, 2007
killed four students – German school killer sites vanish, November 23, 2006
If your Net access is blocked by government restrictions, try Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk Centre for International Studies. Go here for the official download, and here for details. And if you’re Chinese and you’re looking for a way to access independent Internet news sources, try Freegate, the DIT program written to help Chinese citizens circumvent web site blocking outside of China. Download it here.
rss feed: http://p2pnet.net/p2p.rss | | Mobile – http://p2pnet.net/index-wml.php | | And use free p2pnet newsfeeds for your site
Tired of being treated like a criminal? They depend on you, not the other way around. Don’t buy their ‘product’. Do bug your local politicians. Use emails, snail-mail, phone calls, faxes, IM, stop them in the street, blog. And if you’re into organizing, organize petitions, organize demonstrations and then turn up on your local political rep’s doorstep, making sure you’ve contacted your local tv/radio station/newspaper in advance. Don’t just complain. Do something!
June 18th, 2007 at 11:36 am
Ja, we all know it was those violent video games that caused all those little German boys to become Nazis when they grew up, start ww2 and kill 6 million jews. What, no VG back then, must have been violent tv shows. Oh, no tv either, it must have been those violent radio shows; shame on you Captain Midnight!!! While clamping down on video games we can burn books too! Isn’t censorship great? Do it “for the children”!!