Joystiq

Obama signs executive orders to curtail, research gun violence [Update: ESA responds]

Jessica Conditt — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 13:35:00 EST

President Barack Obama signed 23 executive actions today with the goal of suppressing gun violence and researching the effects of violent media on young minds. The actions supplement a proposed $500 million program to curtail gun violence, including implementing a universal background check for gun buyers, restoring a ban on military-style assault weapons and limiting magazines to 10 rounds, and developing emergency preparedness plans.

Obama mentioned video games once during the conference, asking Congress to provide $10 million for the Centers for Disease Control and other scientific agencies to research the causes of gun violence.

"While year after year, those who oppose even modest gun safety measures have threatened to defund scientific or medical research into the causes of gun violence, I will direct the Centers for Disease Control to go ahead and study the best ways to reduce it," Obama said. "And Congress should fund research into the effects that violent video games have on young minds. We don't benefit from ignorance. We don't benefit from not knowing the science of this epidemic of violence."

Obama's recommendations come after Vice President Joe Biden led a task force to investigate various industries and angles of curtailing gun violence, following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut last month. He met with leaders in the video game industry, including EA's John Riccitiello, as part of his information-gathering tour.

"While there is no law or set of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence completely, no piece of legislation that will prevent every tragedy, every act of evil, if there is even one thing we can do to reduce this violence, if there's even one life that can be saved, then we've got an obligation to try it," Obama said.

A summary of Obama's recommendations include the following steps: strengthen the background check system to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, help schools to hire more resource officers if they want them, develop emergency preparedness plans, clarify options that mental health professionals have for reporting threats of violence (acknowledging that those with mental health issues are more likely to be victims of violence rather than perpetrators), enacting a universal background check for anyone trying to buy a gun, restore a ban on military-style assault weapons and enact a 10-round limit on magazines, have Congress support severe punishments for criminal gun buyers and sellers, and placing more police officers on the streets.

Obama ended the conference by signing the executive orders, emphasizing the responsibility of Congress to enact his recommendations.

Continue reading Obama signs executive orders to curtail, research gun violence [Update: ESA responds]

Obama signs executive orders to curtail, research gun violence [Update: ESA responds] originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 16 Jan 2013 13:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Events 2012: SOPA

Jordan Mallory — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:30:00 EST

The Stop Online Piracy Act, had it been successfully enacted, would have given US law enforcement agencies the ability to legally bar search engines from linking to websites that were deemed to host copyright-violating content (whatever that may be), provided said agencies were able to obtain a court order.

It also would have given law enforcement the ability to bar advertisers and e-commerce payment providers from doing business with offending websites, but the bill's real party peace was its ability to block access to infringing websites at the ISP level.

If you think that sounds oddly familiar, that's because it's essentially what The Patriots were trying to accomplish in Metal Gear Solid 2, although the bill's less clandestine methodology wouldn't have required the construction of a massive submersible aquatic fortress.

As troubling as all that sounds, internet legislation isn't really in our wheelhouse since we're a video game website and everything. Once Nintendo, Sony and EA all put their weight behind the bill, however, the issue suddenly fell under our jurisdiction and became much more complicated, especially once Microsoft, Apple and a consortium of other tech giants expressed their support.

Of course, anything that threatens the Internet's right to free speech is swiftly met by the razor-sharp blade of e-activism, with the whole of the Internet collapsing into a singularity of outrage aimed directly at the companies in support of the bill. As public objection grew, Microsoft, Apple and the other members of the Business Software Alliance rescinded their support almost immediately. Nintendo, Sony and EA followed suit shortly thereafter, though the ESA (of which they are all members) remained in support of SOPA.

Rep. Lamar Smith (who had originally authored the bill) eventually announced that he was removing the DNS-blocking portions of the legislation, making the proposed bill somewhat less insane, but still plenty dangerous. Shortly thereafter, House Oversight Committee chairman Darrell Issa cancelled a scheduled hearing and indefinitely postponed voting on SOPA, effectively placing the bill into a state of suspended animation. A similar hold was placed on SOPA's Senate sister PIPA, which sought to accomplish the same goals. It was not until both pieces of legislation had effectively been killed that ESA withdrew its support.

Events 2012: SOPA originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

House won't vote on SOPA until 'consensus' reached

JC Fletcher — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:00:00 EST

It's not quite victory, but at least our defeat has been postponed. Darrell Issa, chair of the House Oversight Committee, has announced that the Stop Online Piracy Act bill won't be voted on yet. Issa had originally scheduled a hearing for January 18, The Hill reports, but canceled it following Rep. Lamar Smith's decision to drop the DNS-blocking provision.

"While I remain concerned about Senate action on the Protect IP Act," Issa said, "I am confident that flawed legislation will not be taken up by this House. Majority Leader [Eric] Cantor has assured me that we will continue to work to address outstanding concerns and work to build consensus prior to any anti-piracy legislation coming before the House for a vote."

As for that Senate action, Sen. Patrick Leahy has announced that the ISP blocking component of the Senate's PIPA act will be removed through a managers' amendment, so that the other parts of the bill can be pushed through while that is studied in further detail.

[Thanks, Eric; image: Infographic from AmericanCensorship.org]

House won't vote on SOPA until 'consensus' reached originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Nintendo, EA and Sony also rescind SOPA support

Griffin McElroy — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 18:40:00 EST

Nintendo, Electronic Arts and Sony Electronics have apparently followed the example of Microsoft and the Business Software Alliance, and have removed their corporate monikers from the list of supporters for the increasingly unpopular Stop Online Piracy Act. None of the three companies have commented on why they reversed their position on the controversial bill, but we imagine its because endorsing it makes the internet pretty angry with you. When asked, EA corporate told Joystiq this afternoon, "EA never expressed a position for or against SOPA." Sony and Nintendo had yet to respond as of publishing.

Note that not all of Sony's miscellaneous branches have rescinded their support, as Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Music Nashville still appear on the list. Also, the Entertainment Software Association is still shown as a supporter -- an organization which the aforementioned publishers (among others) belong to. Whether the group will remain on an endorsement list which exactly zero of its members appear on remains to be seen.

Nintendo, EA and Sony also rescind SOPA support originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Dec 2011 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Sony Network Entertainment head addressing US Congress next week

JC Fletcher — Fri, 27 May 2011 18:30:00 EST

Following Sony's announcement of the PSN data leak, Congress sent an inquiry to the company seeking more information about the breach and Sony's response to it. And Sony responded to that with ... an open letter.

Now Sony Network Entertainment president Tim Schaff plans to make an actual, personal appearance before the House subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, to discuss follow-up questions sent to the company by Representative Mary Bono Mack. The questions speak to the nature of the stolen data, the method through which it was stolen, and how Sony plans to keep data safe in the future. Schaff will be joined by a representative from Epsilon, a marketing company who suffered its own recent data breach.

We're guessing the members of the subcommittee will all have their "Welcome Back" copies of InFamous hand-delivered.

Sony Network Entertainment head addressing US Congress next week originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 27 May 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Sony responds to Congress with open letter, suggests 'Anonymous' was responsible

JC Fletcher — Wed, 04 May 2011 12:21:00 EST

In response to a letter sent to Sony by the US House of Representatives' Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, Sony's Kazuo Hirai sent an open letter detailing Sony's "principles" in dealing with the PSN outage and Sony/SOE data leaks. The full letter has been scanned and placed on Flickr for public view.

A PlayStation Blog post summarizes the content of the letter. According to Hirai, Sony has worked under the following four principles in dealing with the issue: "Act with care and caution, " "Provide relevant information to the public when it has been verified," "Take responsibility for our obligations to our customers," and "Work with law enforcement authorities."

In addition, the letter and post provide a timeline of the attack, including this early clue: "We discovered that the intruders had planted a file on one of our Sony Online Entertainment servers named 'Anonymous' with the words 'We are Legion.'" Despite that evidence, Sony still says it has yet to identify the "individual(s) responsible for the breach." It's unclear if that means Sony does not think the hacking organization known as Anonymous was responsible or, rather, if it hasn't managed to uncover the actual identities of Anonymous' ... err, anonymous contributors.

The "Welcome Back" program was also detailed, through which Sony is offering free downloads, and free PlayStation Plus memberships (and Qriocity access for those subscribers) lasting 30 days plus the length of the PSN outage.

Sony responds to Congress with open letter, suggests 'Anonymous' was responsible originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 May 2011 12:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Congress sends inquiry to Sony about PSN security breach

Griffin McElroy — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 19:00:00 EST

The list of organizations Sony's going to be answering to about the PlayStation Network security breach is growing with alarming speed. The latest addition to the horde is the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, which sent a letter to executive deputy president Kazuo Hirai yesterday with a number of inquiries about the nature of the breach, as well as the company's response to its consumers' collective exposure.

The letter, which was penned by subcommittee chair and California representative Mary Bono Mack, imposes questions including why the company is unsure whether users' credit card info was taken, as well as what steps Sony's taking to prevent future breaches. We're assuming that the question of "When's the PSN coming back online, because some of us are trying to get some Portal 2 co-op Trophies over here," was omitted, as it was found to not be "governmenty" enough.

Congress sends inquiry to Sony about PSN security breach originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 30 Apr 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Former LucasArts president making Congressional bid

Griffin McElroy — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 12:30:00 EST

Jim Ward is best known for being the no-nonsense president of LucasArts from 2004 to 2008 -- a period where the company seemed to dust itself off, and start making good games again. His claim to fame might change in the near future, however -- he's currently running to represent Arizona's 5th District in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2010 Congressional Election.

Ward's fairly conservative viewpoints are evident in his campaign website, but regardless of how you feel about his policies, he's got to be a staunch supporter of the gaming industry. Plus, he might just be the only person who can push legislation through mandating the re-release of Day of the Tentacle.

[Via GamePolitics]

Former LucasArts president making Congressional bid originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 15 Aug 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

FTC investigating explicit content in virtual worlds

Griffin McElroy — Tue, 12 May 2009 03:00:00 EST

Online gaming news site Virtual Worlds recently had the opportunity to sit down with a couple of FTC attorneys who are currently investigating adult content in virtual worlds. The FTC is apparently working on a report for Congress (which is due in December), spawned by an inflammatory report on Second Life's "rape rooms" from Illinois' Rep. Mark Kirk. Thankfully, according to Virtual Worlds, the FTC is "on a fact-finding mission, not a witch hunt."

Coincidentally, this news comes on the heels of an announcement from Second Life's creators, Linden Lab. The virtual world will soon see a massive redistricting in order to separate the game's adult content from its all-ages content. To put it simply, Linden Lab will soon be creating an "adult content continent" that minors won't be able to access. May we suggest the name "Creepyvania" for this brave new landmass?

[Via GamePolitics]

FTC investigating explicit content in virtual worlds originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 12 May 2009 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

And the band fails on: New law seeks to put warning labels on games

Alexander Sliwinski — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture

California Rep. Joe Baca (D) and Virginia Rep. Frank Wolf (R) have introduced a bill that would require cigarette-style warning labels to be placed on games rated "T" or higher by the ESRB. GamePolitics reports that H.R. 231, titled "The Video Game Health Labeling Act of 2009," would require aforementioned games to provide the following notification: "WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior."

If the bill does pass, the ESA will no doubt release its lawyers and the organization could potentially collect another reimbursement check from a governmental organization for wasting its time. Not only is the science shaky on the media violence issue, but the bill singles out a single industry instead of going after every industry with violent media. Failure appears to be inevitable.

And the band fails on: New law seeks to put warning labels on games originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Taxing Second Life [update 1]

Zack Stern — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 17:10:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Online, MMO, Business

The new Reuters Second Life branch reports on a Congressional probe into games with virtual economies like Second Life and World of Warcraft. Massive amounts of money changes hands in these titles; Second Life users spend up to $500,000 in daily transactions. The U.S. government has caught the scent of money wafting up from the internet tubes and hopes to get its share.

Americans are already required to pay taxes on real-world earnings when they cash out of a game, but should they pay taxes on virtual, in-game profits? For example, citizens pay capital gains taxes on real-world asset sales -- profits from an investment over time -- but in-game capital gains policy and enforcement are unclear. Should you owe Linden Dollars to the U.S. government after selling Second Life property in-game, even if you don't cash-out to U.S. currency?

Should virtual worlds be governed by real-world laws, or are they becoming something closer to their own nations? If governments start taxing strictly in-game situations, will gamers deserve in-game social services and a virtual seat in Congress?

[Via Second Life Insider]

[Update 1: Thanks, Ish, for the capital gains lesson. Sorry for the mistake; the second paragraph is clarified.]

Taxing Second Life [update 1] originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 16 Oct 2006 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

U.S. internet gambling legislated [update 1]

Zack Stern — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 21:05:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, PC, Online, Business

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act passed through congress last week as a rider to a port security bill, like a tick clinging to a deer. The gambling legislation intends to make online poker and other money-winning internet games ~~illegal~~ super illegal in the United States (see below). (Business Week mentions that some gaming companies are counting on loopholes, but most U.S. operations have a dire outlook.) President Bush is expected to sign the bill into law within the next few weeks.

Card Squad says, and we agree, that laws should be created on their own merits. The site covers Shelley Berkeley (D-Nevada) debating the act, expressing her disappointment that the bill was tacked on to critical security legislation.

While we usually leave the poker playing to Card Squad, these bills make us nervous for impending legislation in the videogame industry. Will the Video Game Decency Act pass or fail on its own merits, or will it ride on the back of a more important law?

Would U.S. lawmakers try to save Springfield from a comet if they had to allocate $30 million to "support the perverted arts?"

Thanks to Dirk and others for pointing out that gambling is already technically illegal in the United States. It's only legal under state laws or on Native American land, which has limited sovereignty in this situation. (Although state-run gambling exists as lotteries.)

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act gives the government new tools to enforce old laws, making the transaction illegal. Read the act in its original state or in its new habitat, hiding in the SAFE Port Act.

[Update 1: Added last two paragraphs.]

U.S. internet gambling legislated [update 1] originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 Oct 2006 21:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Proposed legislation: ESRB must complete every game

Zack Stern — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 15:55:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Business

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) has proposed a bill that would require the ESRB to play games in their entirety before providing a rating. This, like so much other legislation, establishes how little the government knows about games, making us concerned when it tries to legislate gaming.

The punch-line, as you've guessed, is that there's not enough time for the ESRB to play every game. That's like asking a chef to make every possible meal before rating a restaurant. And how do you decide when an MMO, or even a repetitive game like Tetris, is complete?

Under the current rating system, publishers provide the ESRB with video of the gameplay and detailed information about a game's content. The ESRB may also play the game, but the group relies most on publishers' full disclosure. If the publisher lies about the game, that company faces fines and the possibility that the ESRB won't rate its future releases. (Most major chains won't stock unrated titles.)

Legislation like this, where our representatives don't understand the subject of their bills, makes us uncomfortable. We hope that logic will end this proposal, but logic seems to evaporate the closer we get to Congressional elections.

[Via: Digg]

Proposed legislation: ESRB must complete every game originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 28 Sep 2006 15:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Pentagon: Fear good, facts bad in machinima mix up [update 1]

Joystiq Staff — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 10:55:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, PC, First Person Shooters, Machinima

In their usual sensationalist form, the Pentagon decided to take a machinima fan film of Battlefield 2 and spin it off as a real danger to our national security during a presentation on May 4 in front of the U.S. House intelligence committee. Coming prepared with video clip and fear mongering in tow, these Internet and terrorism "experts" explained how the video was an advertisement for evil doers around the globe simply because it appeared on some insurgent-related Web sites.

More specifically, Eric Michael, an Internet specialist with Science Applications International, said the game mentally conditions users to kill coalition forces. Keep in mind, Michael and his SAI buddies are part of a $7 million project to "monitor insurgent Web sites."

The real story first broke with a post over at GamePolitics soon after the presentation and recently the original creator of the video -- who goes by the name of Samir -- spoke to ABC's Nightline about how the video was originally intended to be a spoof of Team America: World Police. Oooops. These are your tax dollars at work folks. Why is the government so ready to blame video games for all the world's ills nowadays? I can't wait for the topic of video games and their relationship, or lack thereof, to violence to finally sour as flavor of the day.

[Thanks, Rad]

[Update 1: You can watch the Nightline video here. Also check out Water Cooler Games for Georgia Tech professor -- and Nightline talking-head -- Ian Bogost's thoughts. Thanks, SickNic and Jarbwock]

Pentagon: Fear good, facts bad in machinima mix up [update 1] originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 23 Jun 2006 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Jon Stewart blasts Congress' ignorance towards video games

Conrad Quilty-Harper — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 15:25:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Video

Wednesday's episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart featured a long segment based around Congress' recent hearing on the topic of the video game ratings system, which brilliantly highlights how many Congressmen and women sound like out-of-touch jackasses when it comes to discussing the topic that "anybody in any party can grandstand about".

One of the most poignant parts of the show is where Jon responds to a clip of a seemingly helpless Lee Terry pleading to the hearing that "as a father of three young boys... who are avid gamers, I am very concerned about the content included in the games" by deadpanning "and as I stand there, watching them play these violent games, helpless to do anything about it, I can't help but wonder where the system has failed". Also worth a look is the end of the segment interview with Samantha Bee, a Senior PlayStationologist, from within San Andreas.

It's the typical Daily Show mix of poking fun at the ignorance of people with power, coupled with an "OMG the 'House of Representatives filled with insane jackasses' might screw up my favorite past-time" hangover.

Continue reading Jon Stewart blasts Congress' ignorance towards video games

Jon Stewart blasts Congress' ignorance towards video games originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 22 Jun 2006 15:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Have Mario send your mail (via stamps from Japan)

Dan Choi — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 08:15:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Retro

Sure, old Mario has been known to paint, play professional sports, and even do some actual plumbing work on occasion, but he'll soon be able to power your mail through the postal service in the Far East.

10-stamp sheets of 80 Yen stamps are now available for pre-order in Japan, where gaming otakus will soon be able to adorn their snail mail with the likes of goombas, magic mushrooms, and mustachioed men. The set will be out next month.

Has the government of a country like the US ever done anything this official to honor one of the icons of gaming? Perhaps when we have avid gaming advocates in Congress -- or even, dare we say, in the White House -- things will look a little different with game legislation proposals and the postage of unwanted junk mail.

[Via GameBrink]

See also:

Have Mario send your mail (via stamps from Japan) originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 04 Apr 2006 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments