Earlier this month, Maryland governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. signed into law the state's HB 707, an obscenity law targeting games. But where most such signings are quickly followed by a flurry of lawsuits from the industry, the Entertainment Software Association has no such plans for this measure. ESA president Doug Lowenstein today issued a statement in support of the law-to-be, which will add games to the list of existing media that can be considered obscene, and therefore illegal to show, advertise, or otherwise distribute to minors.
By the law's definition, "Obscene" means that "the average adult applying contemporary community standards would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest," that it depicts sexual conduct in a way that is "patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable material," and "the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious artistic, educational, literary, political, or scientific value." No mention is made of violence in the obscenity statute.
The Maryland law would punish first-time offenders with up to a year of imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $1,000. Repeat offenders face up to three years behind bars and/or a fine of up to $5,000. The law is set to go into effect October 1.
