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Yesterday, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced a plan to remove all of the state’s registered sex offenders from a slew of online gaming services. Most of the major players in the video game industry have already jumped on the bandwagon with big names like Apple, Blizzard, Disney Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Sony, and Warner Bros. specifically mentioned. “I applaud all the companies participating in this first-of-its-kind initiative for taking online safety seriously and purging their networks of sex offenders,” said Schneiderman. “Together we are making the online community safer for our children, not allowing it to become a 21st century crime scene.” 
“We know that sex offenders target and lure children and how they look at the online community as their private, perverted hunting ground,” said John Walsh, who co-founded the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children after his son, Adam, was killed in 1981. “I commend New York State Attorney General Schneiderman’s efforts to make gaming platforms safer for kids. This initiative is a strong model for other states, and it’s also a great partnership with private sector companies who are demonstrating their commitment to children’s safety.” Plans like this have been tossed around by legislators for years, but so far, New York is the only state to take any type of official action. But with the level of success that Schneiderman has already seen, I imagine that we’ll start seeing similar bills pop up in other states relatively quickly. By Josh Engen |