EU Demands Improved Code Of Conduct For Games News

The European Union wants the makers, distributors, and retailers of videogames in Europe to come up with an improved code of conduct within the industry, and has given a two year timeframe in which to achieve this.

Reuters reports that EU officials have expressed concerns towards videogame content and how it may be affecting children, with EU Information Society Commissioner, Viviane Reding, telling a news conference, "Creators have to enjoy freedom of expression but at the same time it's an industry that impacts society."

"When children go out to play today they enter the world of joysticks. We are not quite sure where they go and there is real anxiety from parents," added EU Consumer Protection Commissioner, Meglena Kuneva.

While this demand from the EU is not being passed as legislation, providing this timeframe for the European games industry has similar underpinnings to Dr. Tanya Byron's advice for the British Government in her recent 'Safer Children in a Digital World' report.

Dr. Byron called for a new classification and rating system for games to be set in place within a two year time period. Similarly, the EU is also calling for clearer age guidelines on games (denoted by the PEGI system in Europe) for European consumers.

The UK's Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) defended the system, with Director General Paul Jackson commenting, "Importantly, it protects children as games move increasingly online and therefore should be adopted by UK regulators. We look forward to discussing this at the forthcoming UK consultation."

The PEGI system is currently adopted by 20 out of 27 EU member states and is sponsored by 200 games industry members.

The European Commission did accept, however, that there is currently no strong evidence linking violent videogames to the behaviour of children.