Using the “Z” symbol could lead to prosecution in two German states

Re:Using the “Z” symbol could lead to prosecution in two Ger... by BitwiseFool on Monday March 28, 2022 @11:36AM (#30831635)

As a point of order, I may be lumping all German national censorship into the same bucket. When I perceive that Germany goes overboard with censorship, I mean things like banning Command and Conquer because it 'glorifies war' and then allowing it to be sold once the publisher changed some file assets so the fictional characters were cyborgs instead of people: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_%26_Conquer:_Generals#...

While this isn't a specific case of censoring something glorifying or endorsing Nazism directly, they think that their own citizens cannot see such material out of fear that it will inspire people to become militaristic. While the goal of being anti-war and anti-nazi is noble and worthwhile, a lot of things get swept up in the effort to curtail as much of it as possible.

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Re:Using the “Z” symbol could lead to prosecution in two Ger... by rerx on Monday March 28, 2022 @11:51AM (#30831801)

Note that the ban was for sales to minors (under the age of 18) not to all citizens. It also disallowed advertisement, of course, so probably there was a noticeable impact on sales. It probably didn't stop teenagers from getting the game anyhow as piracy was rampant those days and being "on the index" made it extra attractive to many.

The situation has improved a lot these days after an amendment in 2003. There is an industry board (USK) giving age recommendations (0+, 6+, 12+, 16+, 18+) and if a game has been rated 18+, shops will not sell it to minors. Importantly, if a game has been rated by this board, it can no longer be put onto the index maintained by that Federal Review Board for Media Harmful to Minors. So the far-reaching restrictions against advertisement no longer apply.

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