Online video games are a booming market, the growth of which should be encouraged, but they come with risks of addiction for players, who should be better protected - minors first and foremost - said the European Parliament, on Wednesday 18 January, in an own-initiative resolution calling for a harmonised approach in the EU to meet this dual requirement in the Single Market (see EUROPE 13039/6).
By a very large majority (577 votes in favour, 56 against and 15 abstentions), Parliament thus took on board the report by Adriana Maldonado López (S&D, Spanish) as adopted in December by the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO).
Given the risks to players’ mental health, linked to addiction and manipulative practices, MEPs want to harmonise the rules to allow parents to have a clear view and control over the games their children play and the time and money spent on them. They ask for clearer information on content, purchase policies and the age range targeted by games, possibly along the lines of the PEGI system.
MEPs also want the online gaming industry to combat gender stereotypes in games.
To encourage a pioneering sector that has already created more than 89,000 jobs in the EU, MEPs propose to create an annual European online video game award.
Parliament also calls on the Commission to present “a European strategy that unlocks the economic, social, educational, cultural and innovative potential of the video sector to enable the EU to become a leading player in the global video games market”.
It calls on the Commission to assess whether the current legal framework for consumer protection is sufficient to address all the consumer law issues raised by loot boxes and in-game purchases and, if not, to adapt this framework or even adopt a separate legislative proposal on online video games with a view to establishing a harmonised European regulatory framework capable of ensuring strong consumer protection, in particular for minors and young children.
It considers that it would be appropriate to assess whether to propose a requirement to disable in-game payments and loot box mechanisms by default, or even a ban on paid loot boxes.
On behalf of the European Commission, the EU Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, said he encouraged businesses to work with consumer organisations to collect concrete examples of aggressive practices and to make use of awareness-raising tools.
He added that, in the context of the ongoing evaluation of consumer protection legislation in relation to digital fairness, the Commission was focusing, among other things, on price transparency.
See the European Parliament resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/4yi (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)