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ECA: California’s M-Rated Game Law Is Industry’s “Most Important Challenge”
In late April we reported that a California-based law (Schwarzenegger v. EMA) that would make selling video games to minors a federal offense is heading to the Supreme Court. This case won’t actually make it to the court until October, but influential groups like the Entertainment Consumers Association are already preaching the case’s significance.
The ECA is a non-profit organization that represents gamers in major proceedings like this California case. They are submitting an amicus brief to the court regarding the case. An amicus brief is a document from a third party not immediately involved in a court case which is intended to better inform the ruling judge. The ECA is also attaching an online petition against the case, both of which will become official court documents.
In a statement released earlier today, ECA president Hal Halpin said “The gaming sector, as a whole, has arrived at perhaps the single most important challenge it has ever faced in the US. Anyone who cares about gaming should feel compelled to both sign the petition and encourage their friends and family to do similarly. These documents will provide the court with one clear collective voice with which to vocalize our position and reinforce that we agree with the lower court findings: games, like music and movies, are protected free speech."
It’s going to be a long road leading up to the influential case in October. Expect many more developments in the intervening time.
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