By Mark Ballard for The Register. This
story has been reproduced with permission.
Frattini wrote to the interior ministers of European member
states last month calling for them to do something about violent
video games after the release of 16-rated Rule of Rose in
Italy, his home country, caused an outrage.
Frattini had said since Monday that he was using the UK as a
model that would reassure parents across the continent that it
would not be possible for people to sell adult-rated computer games
to children without breaking the law, a source close to the meeting
told The Register.
The European PEGI (Pan European Game Information) system for
rating computer games does apply in Italy, but retailers can sell
games to whoever they like without breaking the law. Retailers have
only contributed to the debate over violent games by saying that
everyone else should take responsibility.
In the UK, a retailer could face imprisonment if it sold
Rule of Rose to a 10-year-old kid, UK interior minister
John Reid said in a written response to Frattini's original
letter.
"Take our example," the Home Office told us Reid had written,
and Frattini did just that.
Frattini's office has been unable to provide any more
information on this – we presume because it was so embarrassed
at how the commissioner had spoken out of turn in the first
place.
