Video games are free speech

[Hatta]

The big decision from the Supreme Court is back, and video games are protected speech. This court has had some atrocious rulings on free speech (Morse v Frederick) and some entirely appropriate ones (Snyder v Phelps). So it wasn't at all clear which way this would go. The cynical side of me notices that big money interests are on the side of free speech in this case, which may actually be the only thing that matters.

Edit: One wonders whether we'd have seen the same result if the case was about sexual video games, instead of violence.

[dsheinem]

cynical side of me notices that big money interests are on the side of free speech in this case, which may actually be the only thing that matters.

This. The Court has become so politically driven (and, based on its ideological makeup, sympathetic to corporate interests) that it is sad. It was once a last refuge of our political system in that it was relatively untouched by lobbyists and other financial influences. A string of decisions in the past 10 years makes it crystal clear that things have changed for the worse.

Hooray for them not fucking up this easy decision. I wish I could believe that a conviction in freedom of expression was the motivating factor.

[MrPopo]

Bam! We have precedent now.

Edit: One wonders whether we'd have seen the same result if the case was about sexual video games, instead of violence.

That's already covered under the Miller Test.

[Inazuma]

Glad it worked out. It's very sad but important decisions like this aren't based on facts, reality or morals. It's all about money, control and power.

[Erik_Twice]

That's already covered under the Miller Test.

That "test" makes me puke. For a country that prides itself so much on "freedom of speech" and other supposedly high ideals, this is just laughable*

Anyways, great news ^^


*Not that it's not laughable for every single other nation that doesn't pride itself so much on that.

[AppleQueso]

As Judge Posner has observed, all literature is interactive. '[T]he better it is, the more interactive.'" He called California's scientific evidence that violent video games can hurt kids "not compelling."

I like this.

The California bill's author, Leland Yee, told reporters today he was very disappointed. The Supreme Court has "decided that it is going to side with corporate America and Wal-Mart against our children," he said.

This guy's an asshole, wow.

[Opa Opa]

The California bill's author, Leland Yee, told reporters today he was very disappointed. The Supreme Court has "decided that it is going to side with corporate America and Wal-Mart against our children," he said.

This guy's an asshole, wow.

Oh no! Not the children!

[AppleQueso]

Why do I imagine that this guy is the type of person who'd attempt to have the internet legally shut down because child porn is on it?

[MrPopo]

The California bill's author, Leland Yee, told reporters today he was very disappointed. The Supreme Court has "decided that it is going to side with corporate America and Wal-Mart against our children," he said.

This guy's an asshole, wow.

Oh no! Not the children!

Whenever I read "think of the children" in my mind I translate it to "I don't watch my kids."

[J T]

I think if you ask the kids, they will think the court decided in their favor. Children love video games. Won't somebody PLEASE think of the children? *JT cries uncontrollably/theatrically*