Coming Down on Pixelated Porn

It looks like Illinois is going to be the first state to try to institute some sort of governmental control over the sale and distribution of violent or other adult-themed video games to minors.

It's about time.

I don't want to hear anyone who lives with their parents whining about "freedom of speech," either. Various levels of obscenity law have been upheld by courts for a very long time, and that is what these proposed laws are, and nothing less.

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) is promoting two bills to make selling or renting violent or sexually graphic materials to minors a crime, treating video games with the same kind of oversight governments have traditionally used to regulate cigarettes and alcohol distribution.

The Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) and Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) are both unhappy with these proposed laws, claming that they have their own ratings system, and feel they should be self-regulating.

I'm sure Larry Flynt felt the same way about marketing and selling Hustler.

But the fact of the matter is that the industries do not adequately self-regulate unless forced. I've never seen a store refuse to sell a violent videogame to a teenager, but these same kids know not even to try buying a copy of Penthouse or a six-pack of Coors.

The fact of the matter is that the software gaming industry has been under-regulated from it's inception, and enforcing a state-mandated minimum level of morality at the cash register or at the rental counter is precisely the kind of involvement that I do feel is necessary by state governments.

Whether the content is delivered via pixels or picas shouldn't matter.

We don't let our kids buy "adult" products in other forms until they meet minimum level of maturity, and we should not allow video games to be excepted from those rules.