New York game law unconstitutional?

New York became the latest state to enact legislation enforcing video game age ratings with the signing of a new bill by the state's governor, David A. Paterson, this week. The bill, which has already attracted the ire of local civil rights organizations, adds legal weight to the existing system of age classifications provided by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board.

"We have the obligation to be constantly vigilant about amending our laws to protect the residents of New York State. Many of these bills will do just that by closing loopholes or creating new laws to enhance the quality of life for all New Yorkers," said Governor Paterson in a Tuesday press release.

The majority of the bill's requirements are already implemented by game console manufacturers and software publishers. It mandates the inclusion of parental lockouts on all new consoles by 2010; however, the Wii, the PS3 and the Xbox 360 all already include such restrictions. It further requires all games to carry content ratings, in a similar way to those ones that are already there. Thirdly, it promises to establish "an advisory council to conduct a study on the connection between interactive media and real-life violence in minors exposed to such media."

Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, responded to the legislation in a press release this week, saying that the law violates the First Amendment.

"New Yorkers do not need the state judging which video games are appropriate and which aren't," she sad. "Parents, not government committees, should be responsible for making those judgments. If the legislature wants to reduce youth violence, it should fund educational programs to teach students conflict resolution skills."

Attempts by other states to implement similar legislation have uniformly failed to pass Constitutional muster, sometimes at considerable taxpayer expense. Whether or not video game industry advocates will bother to mount a legal challenge to this bill, given its ineffectual nature, remains to be seen.

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