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Washington Points Fingers at Games

Initiatives are in the works that have the potential to affect how you play games or the access you have to them.

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The 1998 legislative season is getting under way - on both the national and the state level - and initiatives are in the works that have the potential to affect how you play games or the access you have to them.

Consider: In Florida, state Rep. Barry Silver (D) and state Sen. John Grant have proposed the "Children's Protection from Violence Act," which would " public showing, display, or other exhibition in specified places of video games containing graphic violence person who operate a place of business where video games containing graphic violence are shown, displayed, or exhibited from knowingly permitting or allowing any person under 18 years of age to patronize, visit, or loiter in such a place of business."

The act defines graphic violence as "the depiction or representation of death or severe injury, including, but not limited to: 1. Decapitation; 2. Dismemberment; 3. Repeated instances of bloodshedding; or 4. grotesque cruelty, in a way such that the depiction or representation shocks the conscience of the community and exceeds the boundaries of what should be tolerated in a civilized society."

The act is aimed, in this writing, at arcade games. The Florida legislature reconvenes in March, and this proposed piece of legislation will be considered then.

And the New York Times today reported that debate began on two pieces of national legislation "designed to restrict children's access to Internet pornography and predators."

US Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, has proposed a bill that would require schools and libraries that receive federal Internet subsidies to install software that filters or blocks objectionable material. And US Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) has proposed the Communications Decency Act 2, a second try at enacting the legislation struck down last year by the Supreme Court. This bill would require web site operators that distribute material determined to be "harmful to minors" to restrict access to adults with credit cards or personal identification numbers.

Pair the phrase "harmful to minors" with Florida's "graphic violence" clause and it's easy to see how access to many of the multiplayer gaming sites, company sites (think screenshots on id's site), and sites such as this one could become off-limits to gamers under 18.

Debate has just begun on McCain's and Coats' bills as well. The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee began hearing from witnesses on pros and cons of the proposed legislation, as well as what is going on "in the real world" to prevent minors from coming into contact over the Internet with what could be harmful to them, whether that be pornographers or graphic violence.

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