Straftaten gegen die öffentliche Ordnung – Gegen ein Verbot von Action-Computerspielen was a successful German petition launched on June 5, 2009,[1] meant to reverse a government plan to ban violent games from the country. The German government eventually reversed its decision and sided with the gamers.[2]
A "string of unrest in Germany over violence in video games" prompted the German government to work on a bill to ban violent video games.[3] In June 2009, "the country's 16 interior ministers asked the Bundestag to ban the creation and distribution of games involving violent acts against human or human-like characters. Government criticism of video games had been growing since a school shooting in March was linked to online-shooter Counter-Strike". This plan drew ire from the German gaming community, which resulted in an online petition to challenge the German government decision.
The petition itself reads (in an English translation):
The e-petition eventually reached 73,000 signatures, prompting a government review.[4] Officials have stated that the German government will focus on "educating citizens about the country's USK game ratings standard", instead of changing the current legislation. The creator of the 73,000-signature petition was actually allowed by the government to speak in front of the country's Committee on Petitions and he "argued that banning violent games would be a misstep, and that further education on games and the media would be a better goal for Germany".[5]
The reversal of the violent video game ban was covered by major gaming media, such as Joystiq,[3] GamePolitics,[6] Destructoid,[7] 1UP[5] and even mainstream media, such as The Guardian.