A member of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Anton Gorelkin, commented on the new bill “On activities for the development and distribution of video games in the Russian Federation,” of which he is one of the authors.
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Let us remind you that the bill will oblige digital services (Steam, GOG) and game publishers to inform users about their content, as well as to identify gamers using a mobile number, State Services or the Unified Biometric System.
According to Gorelkin, some media reported information about the document with a slant “Deputies want to ban Steam”But “the bill does not contain any ban on foreign gaming services, nor does it contain any impossible requirements”.
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Gorelkin added that the bill gives game distributors “as many as three” user verification options, one of which (using a phone number) is very popular among digital services.
In addition, the experiment on content labeling of games, which started in the fall, fits into the initiative of the authors of the bill to force game distributors to warn users about their features.
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Gorelkin also emphasized a few more points:
- within the framework of the bill “for the first time a number of important legislative definitions appear”: what is a video game, what is considered gaming property, who are the distributors of video games;
- the authors of the document prescribe “basic definitions for future norms that will help develop this strategically important industry in Russia”and lay “the foundation for systemic support of the Russian gaming industry”;
- The authors are ready to talk with all five gaming industry organizations and, with the assistance of the community, constructively refine the bill.
The draft federal law “On activities for the development and distribution of video games in the Russian Federation” has already been submitted to the State Duma. The parliament’s electronic database contains the text of the document.
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