Posts tagged legislation 
Events 2012: SOPA
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 cou...
Politicians propose cigarette warning labels for games
A bipartisan bill has been introduced that would, if passed, require cigarette-esque warning labels on video games. Authored by house reps Frank Wolf (R-VA) and Joe Baca (D-CA), the Violence in Video Games Labeling Act (H.R. 4204) would require all games rated "E" or higher, regardless of actual co...
Australian government finally introduces R18+ bill, to go into effect next year
Australia's game rating woes are almost over. After years of debate and legal discussion about an R18+ rating for video games there (that would allow for the equivalent of the ESRB's M-rated games to be released without, you know, being illegal), the government has finally agreed to the new rating,...
Senate Bill 978 not much of a danger to YouTube game runthroughs
When we're too busy to actually play Gitaroo Man, we happily resort to watching "Let's Play" runthrough videos of Gitaroo Man. Unfortunately, an addendum to federal copyright laws currently working its way through our country's legislative channels seeks to make streaming videos of copyrighted co...
'Let's Play' videos may soon make you a felon thanks to Senate Bill S.978 [Updated]
[Update: This Is My Next's Nilay Patel has published an extensive break-down of S.978, and it looks like the bill, if passed, wouldn't actually change much of anything for the majority of people who don't profit from their YouTube videos. "Some of the outcry here is a little overblown, as the te...
Utah Governor vetoes video game and movie legislation [update]
It's game over in Utah, for now. Utah Governor Jon Huntsman (R) has vetoed the video game and movie retail restriction bill, which would have enforced strict penalties on retailers who sell M-rated games (and R-rated movies) to "buyers subject to an age restriction or recommendation." The legisla...
Utah game retail restriction bill passes House
HB 353, a piece of Utah legislation which enforces stricter penalties against game and film retailers who sell M-rated and R-rated content to "buyers subject to an age restriction or recommendation,' and which was authored by Rep. Mike Morley and former Miami attorney Jack Thompson, passed through...
LGJ: More game laws?
Each week Mark Methenitis contributes Law of the Game on Joystiq ("LGJ"), a column on legal issues as they relate to video games: It's early 2009, we've just elected a new President, and there are quite literally a mountain of problems to be addressed on Capitol Hill. Our economy has been in subs...
New Illinois law bans Alcopop depictions from children's games
We'll be the first ones to admit when video games cross the line in terms of containing content not suitable for kids -- GTA IV, for instance, contains a cornucopia of foul language and violence that youngsters probably shouldn't be privy to. In that respect, we can understand the justification be...
Insomniac's Ted Price speaks out against video game legislation
Insomniac's CEO Ted Price knows about fun and games. However, he takes the issue of games legislation quite seriously. "I think video game legislation has no place in America," Ted Price told Shacknews in an interview. "It saddens me to see legislators stomping all over our First Amendment rights ...
