Entertainment industry opposes California video-game law

A coalition of entertainment industry trade groups urged the Supreme Court on Friday to uphold a court ruling that declared California's ban on sales of violent video games to minors unconstitutional in 2006, claiming the law could have a “dramatic chilling effect on the motion picture industry.”

California passed a law in 2005 banning the sale of any game to minors deemed "excessively violent" by the attorney general. The Entertainment Merchants Association fought back in court and won when the U.S. District Court struck down the law a year later.

A subsequent state appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that compared the law to restrictions on the sale of pornography was unsuccessful, prompting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to take his challenge to the nation's highest court.

With oral arguments set for Nov. 2, members of the entertainment industry are concerned that if the law were allowed to stand it could eventually lead to similar restrictions on art and motion pictures. Groups including the Directors Guild of America, the Motion Picture Association of America and the American Federal of Television and Radio Artists have joined together to file an amicus brief opposing the law.

“While parents have an undoubted interest in making informed judgments concerning the suitability of exposing their children to potentially objectionable content, [California has] failed to show that the government’s assistance is necessary to serve that interest,” the organizations’ brief states while advocating for self-regulation similar to the ratings system used for movies.

The Entertainment Software Ratings Board currently rates video games, and many retailers restrict the sales of games marked "Mature" or "Adults Only," but those restrictions are voluntary. The entertainment industry expressed concern that the ban on sales to minors could eventually lead to wider censorship of content.

“The history of the motion picture industry serves as a vivid illustration of the threat to First Amendment rights from the impulse to control and censor new forms of media — a threat reflected in the statute at issue before the Court. From the advent of motion pictures, a variety of state and local governments sought to restrict their content for the asserted purpose of protecting moviegoers from being exposed to harmful material,” the brief states.

Other groups that have filed briefs opposing the law include the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and the Entertainment Software Association.