Law Times

Law Times • apriL 27, 2009 FOCUS Deaths spark debate on game liability BY GLENN KAUTH Law Times tricate online worlds, people are spending more of their lives hi- bernating in basements with their hands glued to a joystick. As a result, debate is rag- W ith increasingly in- teractive video games taking players into in- ing about whether video games are addictive. But even if they are, would game makers be liable for the consequences? "If video games were found to be addictive, what would happen in terms of liability to the game publisher, the game developer, [and] the game retailers, especial- ly if it was shown that they were aware of that addictiveness?" asks Tudor Carsten, an associate spe- cializing in video game law at Da- vis LLP in Toronto. Carsten doesn't have the an- of video game addiction has been big overseas. "In Asia, video game addiction and Internet addiction are recognized," he says. "There are quite a few cases that I've read about, some of which don't neces- sarily result in litigation, of typi- cally young people who will play games for 72 hours straight and then sometimes kill themselves, go insane, or hurt other people." Brad Dorrance, the founder of swer, but the issue is on the agenda of groups like the American Medi- cal Association, which has so far said that barring clear evidence, it requires more study. Here in Canada, meanwhile, a chapter of On-line Gamers Anonymous be- gan recently in London, Ont., to help players kick the habit that so- called massively multiplayer on- line role-playing games like World of Warcraft can instill. The liability issue isn't moot, the London chapter of On-line Gamers Anonymous, notes that moves by video game makers to mitigate the effects of habitual gaming are likely signs that they recognize the potential for liability. "I think that's an acknowledgment from a legal perspective that there is a problem," he says of options on game consoles that allow par- ents to restrict what games their kids play and how much time they spend on them. "I think it's going to be emerging as a public policy issue and as a legal issue," he adds. In the United States, litigation however, given the tragedies that have turned up links to video games. In China, for example, the parents of a 13-year-old boy who jumped to his death in a bid to join his heroes from World of Warcraft launched what ul- timately was an unsuccessful lawsuit against the game makers. Closer to home, critics went af- ter the game Grand Theft Auto after a young Alabama man ob- sessed with it shot two police of- ficers and a dispatcher. More recently, Ontario saw its own tragedy after 15-year-old Brandon Crisp ran away from his Barrie home over a fight with his parents over his obsession with the Xbox game Call of Duty 4: Mod- ern Warfare. His family had taken the game away from him, and his disappearance had a sad ending when he turned up dead in a near- by rural area. Police do not suspect foul play in the case. But while such tragedies are rare here, Carsten notes the issue over video games has dragged on for years as now-disbarred lawyer Jack Thompson took on manufac- turers over violence and sex they expose players to. But here in Can- ada, Carsten notes a much stronger video game rating system that bars the sale of the most explicit prod- ucts to minors has tempered po- tential legal challenges. If kids can't buy them, the parents face some responsibility for allowing them to get their hands on them, he notes. Beyond that issue, the issues of liability become further compli- cated by questions over personal circumstances, societal attitudes towards addiction, and the manu- facturers' decisions in designing the games. "There are lots of addictive behaviours that we tolerate," says Carsten. "In terms of gambling addiction, for example, as long as it's properly regulated in the sense that minors are not allowed to play, I don't know that I can go into Casino Rama, drop $20,000, and sue them because I lost $20,000 and my wife's mad at me. I think society recognizes that people have a certain level of responsibility [and that people] choose what they do." Dorrance, who himself left a job in part due to his own habitu- al game playing, agrees. "Nobody put a joystick in my hand, held a gun to my head, and said 'play the game,'" he says. Carsten adds that establishing a link between violent acts and video games is also tricky. "It is a good question. There are several possible answers, of course. One possible answer is obviously that the video game itself causes vio- lent behavior. Another possible answer is that people who are inherently violent are drawn to these video games because they want to play them. They just like video games because they're vio- lent people. Another could just be that there's no relationship [and] that a lot of people play video games. You just don't hear about it. Video games are a huge industry. It makes more money than the movie industry." The questions aside, Dor- rance notes there are legal issues he feels manufacturers, govern- ments, and retailers should con- sider. In particular, he' warnings about the potentially addictive aspects of gaming. "I think it would be very positive if Ontario would lead the way [by telling] retailers to put a sign on their counter: 'Excessive game play may be hazardous to your health.'" At the same time, he' d like to see see more public education about the effects of video games. Technical solutions are also an option. Many parents, Dorrance notes, aren't aware of the parental d like to 'In Asia, video game addiction and Internet addiction are recognized,' says Tudor Carsten. controls within game consoles. In China, meanwhile, the gov- ernment has moved to crack down what's acknowledged to be a sig- nificant gaming addiction prob- lem through time limits within online games. As a result, the players' characters get weaker after several hours of play, prompting them to give up. But for his part, Carsten believes trying to regulate games to be addictive, manufac- turers would face new legal ques- tions over what they knew about the potential effects. "Is it that the video game makers try to make the game as fun as pos- sible, which you would think would be part of their purview. That would be different than realizing that if we flash these lights at these intervals on the screen, it activates part of your brain which fires in a certain way to increase your dopamine levels and make you addicted. That I think would be a lot more worrisome." Still, both he and Dorrance ar- gue a lot of the job of protecting kids from harmful effects falls on parents becoming more involved in what they're doing. "You wouldn't let your kid go to McDonald's and eat 20 quarter pounders," Dor- rance says. "I do believe that should extend to the overuse of computer games as well." games in that way here would prompt a major public outcry. "The phenomenon of playing 24, 48, or 72 hours straight is something you hear about in Asian countries," he says. "I don't hear about that happen- ing in North America." Still, he points out that should authorities determine video LT PAGE 15 MEET KAREN © Untitled-4 1www.lawtimesnews.com 4/20/09 12:41:03 PM 3865.SR.LawTimes 04/2009

• Cover
• Web Site Photos
• Curb Expert Bias
• Focus On IT/Telecommunications Law