We don’t usually talk politics but when we do, we talk about loot boxes as well. Yesterday the United States Senator Josh Hawley announced his plans to introduce a new bill that will target microtransactions in video games. The new legislation titled ‘Protecting Children from Abusive Games Act’ is focusing on gamers under the age of 18 years old.
According to Josh Hawley, the new bill should prevent exploiting children through in-game goods. In a statement, U.S. Senator said:
“Social media and video games prey on user addiction, siphoning our kids’ attention from the real world and extracting profits from fostering compulsive habits. No matter this business model’s advantages to the tech industry, one thing is clear: There is no excuse for exploiting children through such practices.”
Josh Hawley also detailed how such law should work in practice.
“When a game is designed for kids, game developers shouldn’t be allowed to monetize addiction. And when kids play games designed for adults, they should be walled off from compulsive microtransactions.”
Of course, it is only the very first step in making this into official law. Josh Hawley’s bill has to be approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate. However, this step taken by the government of the US might be regarded as one of the biggest attempts to tackle the issue of loot boxes.
The controversy surrounding loot boxes has been a serious question for a while. European countries such as the Netherlands and Belgium have already declared loot boxes a form of gambling and forced publishers to remove these practices from their established games.
We’re interested in hearing your opinion regarding this matter. What do you think about the new bill? Should the under 18 people be allowed to purchase the in-game goodies they feel they want, or better yet – need? Share your thoughts in the comments.
