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Germany wants to stop the Austrian internet photo

I'm not sure what Germany is thinking, messing with a country that spawned a man who can take down a Predator, a Terminator and be twin brothers with Danny DeVito, but Germany doesn't make sense on many levels so they're going for it. It seems the Commission for the Protection of Young Persons in Germany (name conveniently translated) wants to ban the sale of all Austrian online games. They've requested that the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons take this step immediately, though how to go about this still seems a bit up in the air.

See some games are banned in Germany -- which is seriously looking like a worse and worse place to live over the past few months -- but people keep downloading them from Austrian sites because they aren't illegal there. The right wing of the German government doesn't like this, and thus wants to put an end to it in order to protect the youth from “social-ethical disorientation”, “brutalisation of young adults” and “lasting empathy loss." If you don't find this troubling, I suggest you click over to the story's source and read up on how frickin restrictive it is there (yes, all your information about the world should come from gaming blogs). Hopefully the FDMHYP doesn't pass this law as free speech is kind of awesome no matter where you live.








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Matthew Razak is Destructoid's Associate editor and co-founder of film site Flixist. He began as community member "cowzilla" and was since sequestered to write brainy features material. He lives in Los Angeles with his beautiful wife. Likes Games! Movies! Hats! Meet the rest of the team



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25 comments | showing # 1 to 25
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garison's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2009 08:27
garison
Front page blog got stuck in the Cblogs?
SnakeDude4Life's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2009 08:39
SnakeDude4Life
Damn those right wing nazis.

THE GERMAN VERISON:

Dang those conservative Badds.

---

Next thing you know they'll want to shut off the airports to stop the harmful "foreign people" from coming in and then round up the remaining "foreign people" by putting them in a camp to concentrate them into a fine powder.
Wintersocks's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2009 08:44
Wintersocks
Hey Germany:

FUUCCCKKKK YOUUUUUU!!

Mit lieben Gruesen aus Oestrerreich
Matthew Razak's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2009 09:14
Matthew Razak
I'm glad you went there SnakeDude cause I was really thinking it.
falinter's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2009 09:25
falinter
"See some games are band in Germany"

Banned?
killias2's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2009 09:30
killias2
Austria also produced Hitler.

I'm just sayin'....
SnakeDude4Life's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2009 09:35
SnakeDude4Life
@Matthew Razak

I was just stating the obvious incidentary stuff.
Volomon's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2009 09:39
Volomon
@killia2 Ya but they didn't produce Nazi's or let them take over their country. Plus it's a known fact that his Jewish grandmother never sent him $5 for his birthday.

Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons

All I have to say is ya censorship isn't part of a dictatorship for nothing. You control what people think, whether though a dictator or some form of assembly is wrong. The people have a right to import "knowledge" in whatever form they please. Tight ass puckered up about to implode mother freakers can jump off a bridge.
konrad hazen's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2009 10:44
konrad hazen
*facepalm*

Once again I'm so ashamed of my government.

Just so you know: there's quite the opposition to the whole "banning" and "internet filtering" stuff here at the moment, the politicians just don't seem to have caught up with reality yet. I voted for the German Pirate-Party during the recent elections for the European parliament, and so did a lot of others.

Please don't view these actions as typical for the general German population. There's a superb gaming-scene here (mainly PC-centered) and CS and TF2 are really, reaaaallllly big around these parts.
Ramble's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2009 10:46
Ramble
I hope you guys know that germany is way more liberal than America and germanys right wing party is still left of your so called left wing. Just don't say shit like 'nazis' when the whole EU laughs about America. Yeah it sucks that they / try / things like that, but America has some huge fucking problems that go way beyond some little restriction.
Not that I care, but for stuff like SnakeDudes post people really hate America.
starhawl's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2009 10:57
starhawl
Why the fuck do you even think we would care about anything the EU thinks about America?
trunxkam45's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2009 11:01
trunxkam45
Ramble the BNP got two seats in the European parliament. The EU really isn't the face of liberalism.
PwnanObrien's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2009 11:04
PwnanObrien
Hopefully this anti-videogame rhetoric won't invade Poland.
Quosq's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2009 11:12
Quosq
Suddenly I regret moving from Austria to Germany.
GoldenGamerXero's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2009 12:13
GoldenGamerXero
Oh dear it seems like Euprope is getting crappier and crappier EVERY SECOND!

@Trunxkam45

I know man but everyone's so afraid of imigrants and muslims (Muslims are the new Jews) the BNP gets more popular every moment thanks to so many people's stupid opinions. How did someone work out the logic that if your born in a country you don't deserve as many rights as someone who's been born at the same time as you because your family haven't been in there long enough?
Kris S's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2009 12:49
Kris S
@ trunxkam45
I would like to point out it was not the EU that voted in that fascist cocks or even The Scots or Irish, it was the English.

1 in 10 voters in the Midlands voted in their - criminally convicted - racist leader to a position of power and the other seat was from the North of England. All the English, nobody else.
sohnvonben's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2009 14:31
sohnvonben
@ PwnanObrien, I see what you did there.
Mr Wrighty 987's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2009 14:34
Mr Wrighty 987
Those crazy Nazi Arnold's god like pec's with crush you
peachboy's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2009 15:44
peachboy
this is weird...and lame...and weirdly lame.
i live in canada where our government just yells at each other on top of a hill and nothing really ever changes.

@ Mr Wrighty 987:
i am laughing at your expense.
Projectexodus's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2009 17:17
Projectexodus
@GoldenGamerXero

"How did someone work out the logic that if your born in a country you don't deserve as many rights as someone who's been born at the same time as you because your family haven't been in there long enough?"

Restrict the freedoms of imigrants? Jesus, what kind of imigration politics does the BNP plan on doing!? Isn't it enough to just restrict the amount of imigrants that gets to stay in the country?
Eschatos's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2009 17:49
Eschatos
And this is why no one will ever get over the Nazis.
Kris S's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2009 18:13
Kris S
@Projectxodus

I wish I were joking but the BNP would have any non-white and non-british banned from the country. You have no idea how bad they are but yet the English are content to vote them into power. Sad times indeed, the sooner Scotland becomes totally independent the better.
arkracer's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/21/2009 02:59
arkracer
@Kris S

An independent Scotland would be an utter joke. 'Yay! INDEPENDENCE' 'OH CRAP WE'RE REALLY POOR NOW'
Kris S's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/21/2009 05:41
Kris S
@akracer

Not to be getting too political on a games site but what a load of shit. Funny how Ireland manage fine isn't it? We would be poor? Considering all the oil is in the North Sea, that's a bizarre way of looking at it.
In fact, take OUR oil away and add the mess YOUR -I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess your English - government put the country in and it would be interesting to see who would be saying they were poor.

Anywat stop being a retard and STFUAJPG
Oopsacalypse's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/21/2009 09:21
Oopsacalypse
A little bit of correction here: The whole fuss is not about people in Germany DOWNLOADING banned games from foreign websites, it's simply about being able to PURCHASE banned games from foreign online shops. The fact that the bavarian KJM is only targeting Austrian shops is a mystery to me, by the way - I'd say that game imports from the UK are much more popular.

Anyway, the funny thing is: Even if this stunningly ludicrous ban request should be successful (which I strongly doubt, to be honest), there would be no palpable legal consequences. Obviously, Austrian retailers are not subject to German jurisdiction, so they really couldn't be stopped from shipping items to Germany; neither would it become punishable for German customers to continue procuring game imports from Austria. Nothing would have been achieved, perhaps with the sole exception of those online shops in question being blocked from Google Germany, and not being allowed to advertise at German partner websites anymore.

Long story short: There is no such thing as media competence to be found in German administrations, only unteachable blockheads disdaining one of the most seminal economic sectors of our time. But there are elections to be won on the back of a heated public debate, which means hasty actionism und populist incrimination. Those people are LITERALLY claiming that correlation of violence and games PROVES causation. What else is there to say about their integrity as politicians, let alone their common sense?
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