 | Speaking of boundaries and morality…June 4th, 2007 |
GamePolitics.com has word of a French lawsuit against Second Life, orchestrated by a “family values” watchdog group. It’s a good example of the way in which national boundaries and local laws and pressures may affect the operation of virtual worlds in different territories. As some commenters have already noted, it’s not a stretch to see this lawsuit in the context of the recent success of a conservative politician, Sarkozy, in the presidential elections there.
The specifics of the suit appear to be about restricting minors from Second Life — which is of course already policy on Linden’s part, and also extremely difficult to enforce. However, it seems that some ISPs have also been named in the suit.
From their press release:
Ainsi de véritables photos et vidéos pornographiques en libre accès placardent certaines régions. Les utilisateurs ont la possibilité de mimer des rapports sexuels, allant même jusqu’à des scènes de viol, de bondage, de zoophilie et de scatophilie. Des passerelles entre l’univers virtuel et des sites internet de pornographie permettent à l’utilisateur d’être redirigé rapidement.
Familles de France ne peut accepter que la publicité pour le tabac, l’alcool ou la drogue ne subisse aucune restriction légale, de même que l’utilisation des machines à sous virtuelles, des jeux de loto et de loterie.
Familles de France demande un contrôle sur les casinos virtuels puisque que de l’argent bien réel y est dépensé.
Ces dérives, si elles ne concernaient que des « adultes consentants » poseraient des problèmes limités à une simple question d’éthique, mais, étant donné que des mineurs peuvent avoir accès au site sans limite, la question devient plus importante.
Aussi, Familles de France réclame des mesures techniques efficaces de protection afin que des contrôles soient mis en place pour empêcher l’accès à ces dérives par les mineurs.
So, in short: they complain about real money gambling, rape, bondage, furries & bestiality, porn, drugs, alcohol, and the chance that underage people might see any and all of the above; and they demand that measures be taken, all summed up as “a simple question of ethics.” Something which no doubt would be disputed by these guys over here.
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[...] posts a new entry which covers the French lawsuit and mentions this very thread on SC. http://www.raphkoster.com/2007/06/04…-and-morality/ [...]
[...] protect them from gambling and pornography. French politicians have expressed similar concerns with Second Life. If the industry continues to ignore or poo-poo these initiatives it is going to find itself [...]
[...] protect them from gambling and pornography. French politicians have expressed similar concerns with Second Life. If the industry continues to ignore or poo-poo these initiatives it is going to find itself [...]