'Offensive' videogames are protected in the US – for now, writes CIARA O'BRIEN

IT MAY surprise you to know that the right of American teenagers to access violent videogames is a free speech issue, ever since the US Supreme Court overturned a proposed ban on the sale or rental of violent games to under-18s, ruling that it would violate free-speech rights.

By doing so, the court has put games in the same category as books, plays and movies – works deserving of free-speech protection – rather than where California authorities sought to place them, alongside the supply of sexually explicit material to minors, and effectively singling out the industry for such a ban.

The industry, naturally, had opposed the legislation, and pointed to current systems already in effect – the ESRB code – as adequate to guide parents on games content.

The ruling puts to bed

the ongoing battle between the games industry and authorities in California, which isn’t the only state to try to bring in such a ban – six have tried, although none have yet stood up.

Two Supreme Court judges who voted to overturn the ban (Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito) said they would have backed a narrower ruling that allowed states to come up with more specific laws.

So what’s really at issue is the scope of any proposed law, rather than the wisdom of allowing children access to violent games as a constitutional right. According to California’s proposed legislation, the games that would fall into the restricted category include those that depict violence against an image of human being, “lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value for minors” and are “patently offensive”.

Although the law was clear on the definition of violence – “killing, maiming, dismembering or sexually assaulting an image of a human being” – quite who would decide what was offensive, or lacked artistic value, is a little more vague.

There are few who would argue that Mature-rated games should be available to 10 year olds. Ideally, it’s up to parents to decide what is and is not suitable for their children. A little research and five minutes with Google would give even the most clueless a guide on whether what’s suitable for their child. Vague laws, with the risk that they may be misinterpreted and with stiff penalties attached, are best avoided.