Video games – into the legal field

rabiakhatun

There are 88 million computer game users in Russia, 22% of whom regularly buy games. In money terms, this market is worth 325 billion rubles a year. Such data was presented at the 12th Safe Internet Forum by the head of the Digital Development Department at the Center for Strategic Research (CSR) Alexander Malakhov. At the same time,

Games as a legal object are not regulated in any way in Russian legislation

The Main Radio Frequency Center (FSUE GRChTs) considers this a serious problem, said Stanislav Makhortov, chief legal adviser in the field of international law at the Scientific and Technical Center of the GRChTs, at the forum.

He noted that due to the lack of a legal framework, gamers face a number of difficulties. For example, they can play certain games for years and invest millions of rubles in them, and then lose content writing service everything. For example, the PlayStation Store account rules state that if a user does not log in to an account for some time, it will be deleted, and this cannot be disputed. The situation does not apply to cases where this is prohibited by the country's legislation. But in Russia there is no such ban.




The Russian Ministry of Economic Development is currently preparing a bill that will regulate the regulation of video game content

The working group preparing the document includes representatives of the CSR. The legal field in the gaming area is not completely clear, there is federal law No. 436 "On the protection of children from information harmful to their health and development", it can be applied to computer games, noted Alexander Malakhov.

However, this document cannot completely close the need for regulation of gaming, the expert emphasized. In his opinion, the game should be divided into two components: the content that is presented there, and the game mechanics, which are not taken into account within the framework of Federal Law 436.

In terms of information, the game is no different from other types of content and is subject to the same risks, noted Andrey Tsyganov, head of the council of public commissioner for the protection of the family in St. Petersburg, in his speech at the forum. Therefore, the expert believes,

Destructive content in gaming needs to be addressed in the same way as any other illegal form of content

In case of non-compliance with the rules, it is necessary to introduce prohibitive measures in the form of slowing down traffic or even restricting access to the game on the territory of Russia, believes Andrey Tsyganov.

PROHIBITED CANNOT ALLOWED

Alexander Malakhov highlighted the reasons that justify the importance of regulating the gaming market in Russia: harm to physical and mental health, as well as a threat to the cultural and moral development of minors. At the same time,

excessive government intervention in this area is undesirable

This will lead to the “destruction of the market”, filling it with products that will be distributed through grey schemes, and it will no longer be possible to control them, the expert noted.