The All-Russian Society for the Protection of Consumer Rights (RVI) proposed to the State Duma to limit in-game spending by children and block cheat websites without a court order
The Organization for the Development of the Video Game Industry (RDVG) has prepared a draft memorandum that could become the basis for future video game legislation in Russia. Among the proposals are restrictions on in-game purchases by minors, extrajudicial blocking of websites with cheats, and the creation of a dispute resolution mechanism between players and companies.
As reported by Kommersant, on October 20, the RDVG sent an appeal to Sergey Boyarsky, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy. Currently, the memorandum is being coordinated within the industry. After the completion of this work, other market participants will be able to join it.
The main proposals of the document include:
- Standardized Terminology. The RDVG proposes to enshrine the definition of a video game as a complex object of intellectual rights, as well as to formalize the concepts of loot boxes and cheats.
- Fighting Cheats. It is proposed to give copyright holders the ability to seek extrajudicial blocking of resources distributing software that provides unfair advantages in games.
- Protection of Minors. The authors of the document propose introducing monthly limits on in-game spending depending on the user’s age. For children under 14, purchases would need to be confirmed by parents or other legal representatives.
- Industry Arbitration. It is proposed to create a voluntary mechanism for handling player complaints, including those about in-game purchases, probabilistic mechanics, and unjustified account bans.
- Competence Center. Within two years, the RDVG intends to initiate the creation of an organization that will study the market, advise developers on international expansion, conduct evaluations of game content, and maintain a registry of verified gaming services and infrastructure companies.
The RDVG hopes that the new memorandum will become the basis for further discussions on video game legislation. However, the document has not yet been agreed upon by all market participants, and the measures it proposes do not have binding legal force.
The State Duma Committee on Information Policy confirmed receiving the appeal and stated that they would review it in due course.