GTA V and Free Speech
The market of video games has been growing intensively throughout the past years. Among these games are ones that promote violence and that has been subject to many controversial opinions on whether they should be banned or not. Grand Theft Auto V, better known as GTA V, is and adventure video game in which players enter a virtual world and take the role of criminals; they roam around this world freely while performing different crimes of theft, murder and so on. What makes the game so popular is probably the fact that the virtual world in which the game happens is rich and has many features: players can do whatever they want in it, even things they are not allowed to do in the real world. The idea of living in a world that has no rules, and having the freedom to steel a cool car or killing an annoying person whenever the player feels like it seems to appeal to a lot of people (Polites, 2013). Even behaviors that are considered unethical in real life, like racism or sexism seem to be accepted in the world of GTA V. This feel of autonomy the game provides to players makes it enjoyable and popular among many. In addition, the visuals and graphics of the game are very realistic and satisfying to look at. On another hand, GTA V also gets hate as it promotes violence, discrimination, hate speech, sexual abuse, drug use and many other negative acts. It even may influence players to commit crimes in the real world. This is why it is not surprising that the game has been banned in many countries like Australia, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Korea and others (Gammon, 2014). But is banning violent video games like GTA V the most suitable way to avoid potential harm?
First of all, banning or censoring video games can be considered as a way to oppose free speech; and it is important to protect freedom of speech because it promotes self-fulfillment, autonomy, democracy and truth. As mentioned earlier, GTA V alongside many other video games give a feeling of autonomy to the player, because there is no rules like in real life and players are able to take control and do whatever they want. According to Greenawalt (2005, p. 279), autonomy is more important than the regulative authority of the state. When looking at it from this point of view, then video games shouldn’t be censored or banned because that would take away part of the autonomy of the individuals who play video games. But censorship can be justified when free speech starts promoting violence, discrimination, disclosure and racist statements, turning into hate speech, like it is the case in GTA V. Hate speech is actually considered a crime in some countries like the UK and Australia; however, not all countries consider it as so (Packard, 2013, p. 330). In the USA, “hate speech communicated through websites, text messages, e-mail, computer games, TV or cinema are protected by free speech rights” because “games communicate ideas — and even social messages — through familiar literary devices (character, plot, dialogue, music) and through features distinctive to the medium (player interaction with a virtual world)” and “government has no power to restrict expression because of its message, its ideas, its subject matter, or its content.” (Packard, 2013, p. 316–317).
It can be argued that games can be less violent, and individuals may still be able to express themselves freely in them. Although no direct causal relationship has been found, almost all scientific research found a relation between violent depiction and aggressive behavior in children (Packard, 2013, p. 318). For example, violent video games like GTA V may promote unhealthy relationships between boys and girls, as it encourages sexual harassment and dehumanization (hitting a prostitute and stealing her money).
Players can indeed get their anger out by playing the game, but studies also show that these games make them more aggressive and less sensitive to actual violence (Greenwood, 2010). GTA V players who see a person getting injured in front of them in real life may not be as emotionally affected as other individuals and may not urge to help the person because they are used to seeing such scenes in a virtual world. Players are not just seeing such scenes in the game, but they are also causing them. This is very different than watching a violent film or tv show in which the person has no say or doing in what is happening. It is true that the game creators’ intention is not to cause potential harm, their goal is to create a free space in which individuals can express themselves and do whatever they want without thinking of the consequences. However, players may interpret the meaning of the game otherwise, and find it as an excuse to perform violent acts in real life. For example, an 18 year old in Thailand actually murdered a taxi driver in a style that resembles the GTA style, leading for the entire franchise to be banned in Thailand (Gammon, 2014).
In conclusion, banning violent video games and promoting less violent ones may be the best solution to prevent players from being affected by the game. Another option can be to maybe change the guidelines of violent games: for instance, players can be asked to save a person from a specific situation instead of killing this person in order to get their reward. The features of the game won’t be changed, but the missions given would be different so that the player would be encouraged to do less violent acts which could reduce potential harm.
References
Gammon, Q. (2014) 5 Famous Video Games That Were Banned in Entire Countries. Overmental. Retrieved from: https://overmental.com/content/5-famous-video-games-that-were-banned-in-entire-countries-2258
Greenawalt, K (2005) ‘Rationales for Freedom of Speech’ in Moore, Adam D.. Information Ethics: Privacy, Property, and Power, Washington University Press, Washington, p. 279
Greenwood, D. (2010) Grand Theft Auto Is Good for You? Not So Fast… Scientific American. Retrieved from: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/grand-theft-auto-is-good/
Packard, A. (2013) ‘Sex and Violence’, Digital Media Law, Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken, NJ, p. 316–317–318–330
Polites, H. (2013) Why is GTA 5 so popular? The responses. The Australian. Retrieved from: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/business-spectator/why-is-gta-5-so-popular-the-responses/news-story/010597649a339c398ed4f18de94d6882
