California to penalise sales of violent video games to kids

If passed, the bill – known as AB 450 – would require labelling of video games and impose a penalty of up to $1,000 for each underage sale or rental of ultra-violent games in which "the range of options available to a player includes killing, maiming, dismembering, or sexually assaulting an image of a human being."

At present in the US, there is no federal law against the sale of violent video games to minors. There is a system of industry self-regulation, however. Some games are labeled "M" for Mature – and they should not be sold to anyone younger than 17; others are marked "AO" for Adults Only, where customers must be over 18. But previous legislative attempts to underpin the system with penalties have been struck down as unconstitutional.

In contrast, in the UK, video games that are particularly realistic, or feature sex or violence, must be classified by the British Board of Film Classification under the Video Recordings Act of 1984. It is an offence to supply such a game to anyone below the age limit, punishable by a fine of up to £5,000 or up to six months in prison. For those games not covered by the Act, the UK games industry applies its own voluntary age rating system.

The Californian bill's author, Speaker pro Tem Leland Yee, wants to see penalties in the US for those selling violent games to children.

"For the same reason we don't allow kids to buy pornography, cigarettes, or alcohol, we shouldn't allow them to go to stores and buy video games that teach them to do the very things we put people in jail for – abusing women, joining street gangs, killing police officers, or even assassinating President Kennedy," he said.

"Unlike movies where you passively watch violence, in a video game, you are the active participant and making decisions on who to stab, maim, burn or kill," added Yee, who is also a child psychologist. "As a result, these games serve as learning tools that have a dramatic impact on our children."

The bill now goes forward to a vote in the Assembly and, if approved, to the State Senate.