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Appeals Court Overturns Minnesota Videogame Law
A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit unanimously upheld an injunction against a Minnesota law targeted at children under 17 who rent or buy violent video games. The law, which was passed two years ago and was scheduled to take effect on March 18, proposed a fine of up to $25 against a child caught renting or purchasing a game rated “M” (Mature) or “AO” (Adults Only) by the Entertainment Software Rating Board.
The panel affirmed the District Court ruling that the law was unacceptable because the state failed to demonstrate a “causal relationship between the exposure to such violence and subsequent psychological dysfunction,” and that videogames are a constitutionally protected form of free speech under the First Amendment and, as such, the law was subject to strict scrutiny analysis rather than the lesser scrutiny typically used for obscenity.
Despite the continued judicial rejection of laws banning or restricting so-called “violent” videogames, including laws in California, Louisiana, Michigan and Missouri, the state of Massachusetts is currently considering one such bill endorsed by the Mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino.
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