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MPs bid to overturn UK surveillance law at the High Court
When UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced he had passed emergency legislation to retain everyone's web and phone activity, privacy groups were understandably upset. The Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2014 (DRIPA), passed in July 2014, requires that telecoms companies and internet providers store customer data so that authorities can better investigate serious criminal acts relating to sexual exploitation. The government is keen to gloss over the privacy implications of the law, particularly that it was ruled illegal in Europe, but a group of MPs, supported with civil rights organisation Liberty International, argue that it infringes human rights and will seek to reverse DRIPA at the High Court later today.
Violent game-opposing UK politician ditches gaming debate
[Image: Flickr user Steve Punter] Keith Vaz, a member of British parliament whose anti-mature game stance is well-known by his fellow politicians, recently backed out of a debate on violence in video games during the Westminster eForum without any explanation for his absence. According to MCVUK, Vaz was scheduled to square off against Ed Vaizey and Gamers' Voice founder Tom Watson, along with Electronic Arts' Keith Ramsdale, TIGA CEO Richard Wilson, and Eidos' Ian Livingstone. With no antagonist to debate with, the other parties turned to mocking the no-show politician. "Tell him that the Parliament website has a videogame on its front page," Vaizey remarked, "and no one has been killed yet." We're sure wherever Mr. Vaz might have been at the time of the debate, he felt that burn remotely. [Via GamePolitics]
British MP hopes to expand Gamers' Voice advocacy group
[Facebook: Gamers' Voice] Last month, we wrote about Facebook-based advocacy group Gamers' Voice, British Labor MP Tom Watson's initiative to combat the wave of negative press garnered by violent video games and gaming culture as a whole. At the time that story was published, the group had a few hundred members. Just two weeks after the story was published, the group had over 15,000 members. According to a recent interview with IndustryGamers, Watson is inviting the group's ranks to join him at the British House of Commons tomorrow to discuss the future of the group. However, he's already seen results in Parliament, where his fellow politicians have shown interest in learning about the issues that pertain to games and have asked about connecting with gamers. Watson's personal goals are fairly reasonable: To stop the media's attacks on the entire industry "because one scene in one game is unpleasant to one journalist," and to "get a balanced view about what games really are."
British MP Watson leading charge against Modern Warfare 2 media controversy
Tom Watson, a member of British Parliament, has developed a sort of folk hero status among European gamers this morning. After his fellow MP, Keith Vaz, promised to decry the violence depicted in Modern Warfare 2 (specifically in that one scene) in the next session of Parliament, Watson publicly defended the game on Facebook and Twitter. He then kicked it up a notch and started a pressure group called Gamers' Voice on Facebook. The group's mission statement explains that its members will discuss "how UK video gamers can find their voice in newspapers and government." It was a wise, pre-emptive move on Watson's part -- as promised, Vaz brought up the game during today's Parliament session, explaining that it's so violent that "even the manufacturers have put in warnings within the game telling people how they can skip particular scenes." He inquired how the government was planning on "protecting our children." Watson stepped in and dropped the timeless observation that the UK already has a game rating system which restricts the game's sale to minors, and that it's more important to protect the gaming industry than it is to "create moral panic" in the media. If you want to stay informed of Watson's other heroic, industry-defending activities, you might want to join the Gamers' Voice group. (We hear that shortly after that Parliament session, he doused a burning orphanage, then ate an entire maple tree for breakfast. Seriously!)
UK Minister advocates Wii as learning tool
Tom Watson, UK government e-minister and member of Parliament, thinks that playing Wii beats watching the tube when it comes to helping kids learn. "I'd rather my boy be playing on his Wii than passively watching telly," he said. "Most games are educational," he added. You got that right, buddy. We never would've known that eating flowers lets you throw fireballs and that all of our base belong to you had we not been big into gaming."They make you think, focus, challenge and change," he offered. Well, Tom, we think you're right. But, that doesn't mean that, as a parent, you should just toss your child a couple of games and let them get their learn on. Mix in a book every now and then.
