Top US court zaps violent videogame sales ban

The US Supreme Court on Monday rejected a California law banning the sale or rental of violent videogames to minors, calling it unconstitutional and a violation of free speech protections. The court, in a 7-2 ruling, upheld a lower court judgment that struck down the 2005 California law. "Like the protected books, plays, and movies that preceded them, videogames communicate ideas -- and even social messages -- through many familiar literary devices," said Justice Antonin Scalia, author of the majority opinion. "That suffices to confer First Amendment protection" under the US constitution, Scalia said. The case stemmed from California's approval of a 2005 law that would make retailers subject to fines of $1,000 for selling or renting videogames labeled as violent to anyone under the age of 18. Opponents argued that the law restricted freedom of expression and was unnecessary because most videogames already contain ratings as to their age appropriateness. The California law was overturned by a lower court in 2007 as infringing on free speech, and that ruling was upheld by a higher court in 2009. Then California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appealed the case to the Supreme Court. The law defines a violent videogame as one that depicts "killing, maiming, dismembering, or sexually assaulting an image of a human being," though it does not prevent a parent or guardian from purchasing the game for their child. Opponents of the California law argued that minors should have the same access to potentially violent videogames as they currently do to movies or books with similarly graphic content. They said the law is not needed because the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) already rates thousands of games a year, providing parents with the ability to determine whether a game is appropriate for their child. The Supreme Court, in its ruling, noted that many children's books contain graphic material. "Certainly the books we give children to read -- or read to them when they are younger -- contain no shortage of gore," the court said. "Grimm's Fairy Tales, for example, are grim indeed," it said. "Cinderella's evil stepsisters have their eyes pecked out by doves. And Hansel and Gretel (children!) kill their captor by baking her in an oven." The court also said there was no "compelling" evidence to show a link between exposure to violent videogames and harmful effects on children. "These studies have been rejected by every court to consider them, and with good reason: They do not prove that violent videogames cause minors to act aggressively," the court said.