Have you ever watched an older sibling or an unaware parent go into a GameStop, EB Games, or Walmart in order to pick up a mature videogame for their underage kid? It’s not exactly a rare sight. New Zealand’s chief government, which already has a law in place to prevent this from happening, is being asked to finally start prosecuting violators to the fullest extent.
According to Bill Hastings, lawbreakers would endure a $10,000 fine or up to three months of imprisonment. While this seems a bit excessive, Hastings believes that the "shock value" of it all will prevent future incidents from occurring.
"They might think the offense is silly, but it ain’t," Hastings told The Dominion Post. "That’s what the law says, but… you’re not going to have police officers in every bedroom… There would certainly be some shock value to prosecuting a parent who gives their under-18 child access to a restricted game. It would send out a message that the enforcement agency means business.
"I think the word ‘game’ can mislead people for sure. It’s not checkers. For the first time in history, kids are more savvy with technology than parents… parents need to get up to speed on the digital divide. They need to look at what their kids are playing and doing," he added.
We would like to know what’s next. Will parents start to be prosecuted for watching R-rated films within their homes if a child is around? It all seems a bit over-protective to us. We’d like to get your opinion on the subject in the comment section below.