I have not read the text of Senate Bill 1629, but it is probably another toothless "appease the yokels, but business as usual" one like the last one. Technically there are no "known" minors in games like STO because the terms of service say that you must be at least 18 or older to play and they have the "enter your birth date" thing on the site before you can download the game.
If a government wants to enforce minimum age in online games, then it would require draconian measures to play a game. Fingerprint and/or retinal scanners are a possibility since more common methods would just require a kid stealing their parent's info and that is no different from a kid stealing their parent's credit card.
The Senate (and the House) consider many, many bills that are not passed, and frequently that have no chance of passing, because it looks good to someone the Senator or Representative is beholden to - sometimes, but not always, a group of constituents. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.
The bill itself isn't that important (since it is nowhere near close to becoming law) except that it shows there is concern about loot boxes and pay to win mechanics outside the UK. It's not the only example in the US either, it was however notable because it is on a federal level rather then state level and I think it had bipartisan support. (How much I don't know.)
Of course, if STO does have an 18+ clause in the TOS, then that particular bill wouldn't affect us in it's current form anyways, except that it apparently would also cause a study on the affects of loot boxes and pay to win mechanics for all ages. (Been a long time since I made my account so I don't recall all the details.) Anyways, the point is, I don't think the concern about loot boxes is going to just go away, so who knows what'll happen in the future.
The bill itself isn't that important (since it is nowhere near close to becoming law) except that it shows there is concern about loot boxes and pay to win mechanics outside the UK. It's not the only example in the US either, it was however notable because it is on a federal level rather then state level and I think it had bipartisan support. (How much I don't know.)
Of course, if STO does have an 18+ clause in the TOS, then that particular bill wouldn't affect us in it's current form anyways, except that it apparently would also cause a study on the affects of loot boxes and pay to win mechanics for all ages. (Been a long time since I made my account so I don't recall all the details.) Anyways, the point is, I don't think the concern about loot boxes is going to just go away, so who knows what'll happen in the future.
I think the real reason it's in the limelight is money. the amount of money in gaming is going up every year.
Comments
If a government wants to enforce minimum age in online games, then it would require draconian measures to play a game. Fingerprint and/or retinal scanners are a possibility since more common methods would just require a kid stealing their parent's info and that is no different from a kid stealing their parent's credit card.
Of course, if STO does have an 18+ clause in the TOS, then that particular bill wouldn't affect us in it's current form anyways, except that it apparently would also cause a study on the affects of loot boxes and pay to win mechanics for all ages. (Been a long time since I made my account so I don't recall all the details.) Anyways, the point is, I don't think the concern about loot boxes is going to just go away, so who knows what'll happen in the future.
My character Tsin'xing