Are Video Games Free Speech?
The Supreme Court is to consider whether to strip First Amendment protection from violent videogames that critics say appeal to the deviant interests of children.
“A 2005 California law prohibits selling or renting such games to minors based on legislative findings that they stimulate ‘feelings of aggression,’ reduce ‘activity in the frontal lobes of the brain’ and promote ‘violent antisocial or aggressive behavior.’ The law never took effect because lower courts found it violated free-expression rights. In a 2009 ruling, a federal appeals court in San Francisco said the state provided no credible research showing that playing violent videogames harmed minors, and found the law was an unconstitutional effort ‘to control a minor’s thoughts.'”
