US Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Video Games
The Supreme Court has given its official statement regarding Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association today, striking down the California state law which banned the sale of video games deemed "violent" to minors.
The majority opinion found that video games -- much like books, plays, and movies -- communicate thoughts, ideas, and social messages through the player's interaction with the video game world. This falls under the protection of the First Amendment.
This decision isn't new, as it has been made before in lower courts, the Northern District of California Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
But the debate surely won't end here, as many arguments have been raised, including that the First Amendment doesn't apply to children and that it's illegal to sell images of naked adults to children, so why would it be allowed to sell them a product in which human beings are maimed and murdered?
Either way, the final decision stands for now: video games have First Amendment protection.
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