Scientific article
OA Policy
English

Response to the Regulation of Video Games under the Youth Media Protection Act: A Public Health Perspective

Publication date2022-07-29
First online date2022-07-29
Abstract

The Swiss Youth and Media Act, which is about to enter into force, is an attempt to provide a legislative framework for video game use. Among other inclusions, the law intends to make providers more accountable by taking measures to protect minors from harm that can be caused by improper use of video games. However, it is a challenge to create a legal framework that can adequately regulate the evolving features of video games. Legislators must find a suitable regulatory approach which takes into account the fact that there is an increasing convergence between video games and gambling, particularly with the introduction of loot boxes. Moreover, there is a need for regulation, including the prohibition of misleading designs, the introduction of additional protection for minors, and the assurance of transparency of transactions. Appropriate policy legislation and consumer-protection measures are needed to protect people using these types of products, particularly children and adolescents. Further work should focus on assessing game characteristics to refine regulatory models to promote safe gaming. Based on experiences from the field of psychoactive substances as well as that of gambling, it is now a matter of developing a matrix of harm with elaborated categories: a tool that makes it possible to evaluate the potential harms of certain game design in an evidence-based manner.

Keywords
  • Adolescents
  • Gaming
  • Gaming disorder
  • Microtransactions
  • Policy
  • Video games
  • Adolescent
  • Behavior, Addictive / prevention & control
  • Child
  • Gambling
  • Humans
  • Policy
  • Public Health
  • Video Games
Citation (ISO format)
LISCHER, Suzanne et al. Response to the Regulation of Video Games under the Youth Media Protection Act: A Public Health Perspective. In: International journal of environmental research and public health, 2022, vol. 19, n° 15, p. 9320. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19159320
Main files (1)
Article (Published version)
Identifiers
Additional URL for this publicationhttps://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/15/9320
Journal ISSN1660-4601
252views
978downloads

Technical informations

Creation20/08/2022 09:22:00
First validation20/08/2022 09:22:00
Update16/03/2023 08:43:15
Status update16/03/2023 08:43:14
Last indexation01/11/2024 03:17:39
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