The Marker case: Does Russia need a new bill on computer games
Roskomnadzor called for the revision of the draft law on the regulation of computer games. This was stated by the head of the department Andrey Lipov. He considers labeling the document to be an insufficient measure and believes that the education and upbringing of users is much more effective than government bans. An educational program for young people can really be useful in terms of market development, experts believe. Izvestia figured out what the regulation should be, which, according to estimates, will affect more than 32 million Russian gamers.
Do I need to label computer games?
The draft law on the regulation of computer games needs further elaboration — this opinion was expressed by the head of Roskomnadzor (RCN) Andrey Lipov at a round table on the legal regulation of the video game industry and in-game content.
— A new law, it probably needs to be adopted. Labeling prescribed by law will not make it worse. The question is whether it will make it better. For any regulation, especially government regulation, when a duty is imposed and responsibility follows, assessment mechanisms are needed," Lipov is sure.
At the end of 2024, a group of deputies submitted a bill to the State Duma, according to which it is proposed to introduce labeling of games based on their content. The draft document, in particular, outlines a ban on the distribution of banned content in the Russian Federation, warning users about the features of the video game. They can be assigned different categories (for example, if there are scenes of violence, brutality, swearing, etc.). If there are paid options, their manufacturers will have to publish the payment procedure, refund of funds and resolution of disputes related to this. "We want game distributors to give their developers the opportunity to warn users about the features of game content. The labeling experiment that some participants in the Russian video game market are currently conducting is fully consistent with this paradigm," MP Anton Gorelkin wrote on his Telegram channel at the time.
— The authors of the bill should probably look with us at how to measure the effectiveness of the future bill. If the purpose of regulation is to label, that's one thing. If you protect users from something bad, it's different," the head of Roskomnadzor draws attention.
According to Andrey Lipov, labeling computer games will not be enough. For example, in the case of their mobile versions.
— If it's just about labeling, it's all coming from television. There, parents can clearly see what is on TV and understand what the child can and cannot watch. Do we often look at children's phones and see what they have downloaded and what they are playing? The labeling won't work that way there," he added.
According to the head of Roskomnadzor, issues related to computer games should be resolved not only through control by government agencies, but also through partnership between the state and business in this area and self—regulation.
— There should be some kind of synthetic regulation along with self-regulation, with state regulation, — Andrey Lipov drew attention.
According to him, the issue is not about restrictions, it is necessary to carry out educational work with young people in the field of computer games.
— Games are not the same as websites on the Internet, because here the child, the player, does not just have a short—term interaction with information. There is a certain dictate and training of the behavior model. Every day, a person plays out some kind of behavior model, some patterns. Psychologists should evaluate all this quite clearly," Andrey Lipov has no doubt.
The head of Roskomnadzor also believes that there is no need to ban gaming content in Russia. Moreover, the largest gaming platforms are making adjustments to projects according to the requirements of the department.
— There is a general regulation of information on the Internet, which is what Roskomnadzor is working on and is currently coping with prohibited information in games. The popular Steam platform, for example, deletes things that we order to be deleted based on the requirements of current Russian legislation," the head of the department added.
Andrey Lipov called for relying primarily on the interests of domestic game developers when regulating and implementing the adopted laws.
— Because here we will solve the problems when we have our own platforms and our own game developers. Together with our industry, we will be able to solve our problems that we encounter in an alien culture and values that reach us through their games, their platforms," said the head of Roskomnadzor.
With the new regulation, it is necessary to focus not only on game developers, but also on the users themselves. According to VTsIOM, 22% of Russians play video games, which means there are more than 32 million gamers in the country. This number suggests that the potential impact of these technologies on the internal health of our citizens is quite large, said Vadim Subbotin, Deputy head of Roskomnadzor.
— Today, computer games can become a tool for propaganda of violence, non-traditional relationships, immoral lifestyle and extremist ideologies. Roskomnadzor is actively involved in protecting the information space from destructive influence," the deputy head of the department said.
Part of the bill is devoted to the description of mechanisms for supporting the Russian gaming industry, said State Duma Deputy Anton Gorelkin.
— We try to take into account all constructive and rational suggestions. There is no task to harm the industry," he said. — The second part of the bill concerns content labeling. We consider it necessary to give it a legal status. The draft law assumes that the government of the Russian Federation will determine the federal executive authority that will be authorized to accredit experts. With a high degree of probability, this will be the Ministry of Finance, on the basis of which a special expert council will appear.
Earlier, the Ministry of Energy approved a project on voluntary positive labeling of games, developed by the Organization for the Development of the Video Game Industry (RVRI). It is planned that at the start the mark will be assigned in three categories: "Made in Russia", "Contains educational materials" and "Esports discipline".
— On behalf of the president, we are closely monitoring the issue of regulating the video game industry. We are in constant interaction with the industry and interested departments to solve it," the Ministry of Finance told Izvestia. — Conceptually, we support the draft law developed by deputies and senators, it takes into account important aspects for the development of the industry, for the state and consumers. Our goal is to find a balance between the interests of all parties.
The ministry has proposals for finalizing certain provisions of the draft law, the press service of the department added. They expect that they will be reflected in the document.
Why the gaming industry needs to be regulated
Viktor Naumov, Chief Researcher at the Information Law and International Information Security Sector of the IGP RAS, head of the Preserved Culture project, drew attention to the need to include mandatory interdisciplinary expertise in AI applications in various fields, including games, in legislation.
— Especially in legal relations involving minors. AI games aimed at an audience of millions and having complex scenarios need to be tested first, and only then released," the expert noted. — In addition, regulations should be introduced to limit the use of AI in computer games for children, as well as legal regulations related to the protection of their creative skills, which we risk losing by constantly using generative artificial intelligence. And provide for the right of a person and citizen to refuse to use AI in selected areas.
The gaming industry, like any other creative industry, needs to be regulated. However, the adoption of a separate federal law raises questions, the director of the Association for the Development of Esports Infrastructure (ARKI) told Izvestia Pavel Golubev.
— Neither cinema, nor literature, nor music require such a specialized approach, their regulation is successfully carried out within the framework of existing legislation.: The Civil Code (Part IV), laws on the protection of children from harmful information, on information and information technologies, the fundamentals of cultural policy and other laws, by—laws, decrees and resolutions," he said.
The statements of the authors of the draft law about the absence of negative socio-economic consequences are particularly perplexing. Obviously, additional regulatory and financial burdens may be critical for many studios, especially small ones, the expert fears. And potential restrictions on access to international platforms such as Steam threaten the sustainability of an entire segment of the industry, he believes.
There is nothing wrong with government regulation of the video game industry as such, this is a normal stage in the development of any industry. But a careful approach is important so that measures eventually lead to development, rather than disappearing or going into a gray area, says Vasily Ovchinnikov, head of the Video Game Industry Development Organization. He recalled that Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko at the plenary session of the international Data Fusion conference stated that it was extremely important for the state not to limit the development of the industry ahead of time.
"Although it wasn't directly about video games, this is also true of our industry, which is also a high—tech field and is in the early stages of its development or revival," he believes.
It is absolutely clear that upbringing and education for children and adolescents should be developed, including within the framework of what can and cannot be done in computer games, Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily, added. The creation of programs in the field of education and information can become an incentive for the development of an educational environment in the field of IT in the Russian Federation, he concluded.
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