Zounds! Again with the violence-to-porn connection
In a new article over at the First Amendment Center, Craig Smith mentions a new attempt to acquaint televised violence with pornography. Unfortunately, such a thing may also have repercussions on the gaming world, since it does happen to be a form of televised violence, in some sense.
This time, however, it’s not from any legal body, but from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) itself. According to Smith’s commentary, the FCC “sent a valentine” to Congress, seeking to censor violence on television.
Hatched in the bowels of the FCC, this report argues that it would not violate the Constitution to equate violence with indecency, which the FCC already has the power to regulate. All it would take is an act of Congress giving the FCC the power to move forward with its censorship agenda.
Here’s the catch: is there really a connection between televised and real violence, and can the former induce the latter? That’s the question asked by Smith in his article, and even cites some studies that say this isn’t the case. While it isn’t directly related to gaming, just remember: videogames are televised, and they can be violent. That’s the very thing that creates the tenuous connection between the FCC’s attempt and gaming life.
In a new article over at the First Amendment Center, Craig Smith mentions a new attempt to acquaint televised violence with pornography. Unfortunately, such a thing may also have repercussions on the gaming world, since it does happen to be a form of televised violence, in some sense.
This time, however, it’s not from any legal body, but from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) itself. According to Smith’s commentary, the FCC “sent a valentine” to Congress, seeking to censor violence on television.
Hatched in the bowels of the FCC, this report argues that it would not violate the Constitution to equate violence with indecency, which the FCC already has the power to regulate. All it would take is an act of Congress giving the FCC the power to move forward with its censorship agenda.
Here’s the catch: is there really a connection between televised and real violence, and can the former induce the latter? That’s the question asked by Smith in his article, and even cites some studies that say this isn’t the case. While it isn’t directly related to gaming, just remember: videogames are televised, and they can be violent. That’s the very thing that creates the tenuous connection between the FCC’s attempt and gaming life.
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