Nothing cataclysmic followed the Supreme Court’s correctly putting the First Amendment above a California law restricting the access of minors to video games that portray extreme violence. And shouldn’t an editor at a legal technology pub be applauding the Court’s recognition of technological creations as a form of artistic expression? Still, I find myself disappointed and a bit disheartened by the quality of the merchandise paraded before the public when the judicial discourse turns to free speech. While the U.N. declares internet access a basic human right, our high court follows a decision regretfully guarding “animal crush” videos with the rights of pre-teenagers to dismember and set virtual people on fire.
I find myself agreeing, at least in spirit, with Justice Breyer’s dissent to the majority opinion: “But what sense does it make to forbid selling to a 13-year-old boy a magazine with an image of a nude woman, while protecting a sale to that 13-year-old of an interactive video game in which he actively, but virtually, binds and gags the woman, then tortures and kills her? What kind of First Amendment would permit the government to protect children by restricting sales of that extremely violent video game only when the woman — bound, gagged, tortured, and killed — is also topless?” (Hat tip: Above the Law)
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
