Here we go again, the crime of one results in a complete ban of all! Maybe we should apply that logic to lawmakers, one bad lawmaker should result in a ban of all lawmakers from making broad based laws without evidence of a mass need for the law. Never forget who wrote SORNA, Florida's Mark Foley who was never prosecuted for his incidents with minor Pages!4-5-2012 New York:
Quote from: Sex Offenders - A Reality Based Discussion: "It is notable that the only case mentioned in the Attorney General's press release is that of "Richard Kretovic, a 19-year-old man from Monroe County, [who] pled guilty to sexual abuse charges after meeting a 12-year-old boy on the popular online video game system Xbox LIVE." Mr. Kretovic was not a registered sex offender at the time of his crime, and this announced action would not have prevented his crime. Apparently, the Attorney General's office is not able to point to any incident in New York State where a registered sex offender victimized someone using a gaming network, or they would have mentioned it."
New York is dropping the banhammer on registered sex offenders. The state's attorney general Eric T. Scheiderman today announced that 3,580 online accounts belonging to sex offenders have been struck from online gaming networks--or at least had their communication privileges revoked--as part of "Operation: Game Over."
The state had cooperation from Microsoft, Sony, Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Warner Bros., Disney, and Apple, all of whom agreed to the account purge. New York requires that convicted sex offenders register all of their e-mail addresses, screen names, and similar identifiers for the purposes of limiting their access to certain online networks. This is the first time the law has been invoked relative to online gaming.
The attorney general said that sexual predators have been using voice and text chat in online gaming services to find and arrange meetings with underage victims. Earlier this month, a 19-year-old Monroe County man pled guilty to sexually abusing a 10-year-old boy he met through Xbox Live.
The 19 year-old was NOT a former sex offender, this was his first sex offense! Notice the careful wording that DOES NOT indicate he was a former sex offender.
"At Microsoft, we continually evaluate ways to manage safety for our 40 million Xbox Live members and particularly for children on our service," Microsoft VP and deputy general counsel Rich Wallis said in a statement accompanying the attorney general's announcement. "Our partnership with the Office of the New York Attorney General helps further this cause."
When asked for comment, an EA representative told GameSpot, "This was an [Entertainment Software Association] initiative; EA is a member."
An ESA representative then commented on the program, saying, "Our industry welcomes appropriate efforts allowing people of all ages to play games in a safer environment. Online gameplay with friends is a social experience and we encourage parents to be aware of what games their children are enjoying and with whom they are interacting in the virtual space. Through the use of robust parental controls and awareness of the online world, playing games online can be a fulfilling and rich experience."
Inquiries as to which companies were able to simply limit communication functions and which purged entire accounts were not returned as of press time. ..Source.. by Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor
Another case where they indict all sex offenders because of the actions of a very few or even one. Yesterday I defriended a friend on facebook because her birthday said she was 18 but in a chat she said she was 11. So I did what I was supposed to do under the circumstances. But with rules like this one gaining popularity eventually they will take our computers away or make them unusable for any social interaction. It's already common practice to throw sex offenders off of dating sites even if they confess their status in the profile. So the only sites they can go for dates are the ones with sluts and porn models on them. Even if they want to put their past behind them they cannot get on with their lives like every other criminal class can.
ReplyDeleteQuote: "Online gameplay with friends is a social experience and we encourage parents to be aware of what games their children are enjoying and with whom they are interacting in the virtual space. Through the use of robust parental controls and awareness of the online world, playing games online can be a fulfilling and rich experience."
ReplyDeleteTwo problems in addition of course to the ones ALREADY mentioned:
1.) Violation of the first amendment ( right to freedom of speech/freedom of association)
2.) Regarding "parental controls". These companies should be sued for parental interference and maybe they will be when or if a child or minor is harmed via the use of one of these sights. Former offenders DO have children and many of their crimes were misdemeanors and decades old. There is no merit or rationale between throwing the baby out with the bathwater so to speak. How can a parent, who has some past conviction monitor their child's internet activity AS THEY SUGGEST if the parents are banned.
Operation Game Over is an Operation Do Over........