Supreme Court strikes down California video game law

The government cannot ban the sale or rental of violent video games to minors as this would violate free-speech rights, the Supreme Court said in its first ruling in a video game case.

By a 7-2 vote, the high court struck down a California law, which also imposed strict video game labeling requirements, as unconstitutional. It said video games, like books, plays and movies, deserve free-speech protection.

The ruling was a victory for video game publishers, distributors and sellers, including the Entertainment Software Association. Its members include Disney Interactive Studios, Electronic Arts, Microsoft Corp and Sony Computer Entertainment America.

The trade association hailed the ruling as a "historic and complete win" for free-speech rights and "the creative freedom of artists and storytellers everywhere."

"Today, the Supreme Court affirmed what we have always known - that free speech protections apply every bit as much to video games as they do to other forms of creative expression like books, movies and music," said Michael Gallagher, the association's president.

The law, adopted in 2005, has never taken effect because of the legal challenge. 

It defines a violent video game as one that depicts "killing, maiming, dismembering or sexually assaulting an image of a human being." Retailers who sell or rent a violent video game to a minor could be fined as much as $1,000.

Six other states have adopted similar laws, and all had previously been struck down in court.

The Supreme Court's majority opinion, written by Justice Antonin Scalia, said there was no tradition in the United States of restricting children's access to depictions of violence.