Activities of Antonius MANDERS related to 2022/2014(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Consumer protection in online video games: a European Single Market approach (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on consumer protection in online video games: a European single market approach
Amendments (19)
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas video games are played by all age groups in Europe, in particular minorschildren, 68-79% of whom play them;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas online video games companies are bigger than all music and movie companies combined in terms of worldwide turnover;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas video games are becoming increasingly important also in other sectors, such as education, marketing, VR/AR, and digital marketplaces linked to the Metaverse;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas despite its central role in the European cultural and creative ecosystem, the online video games sector is still neglected in comparison to other media industries, especially movies and other audiovisual products, who generally receive more funding and are used as a model to shape regulation and policies around video games, an approach that does not consider the differences between them;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
Ad. whereas technological developments in the online video games sector spill over to other sectors and industries like construction, design, retail, and online shopping;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the video games industry employed 86 953 people in 2019, of whom around 20% were women; whereas the video games industry continues to grow rapidly in the entire Union, thereby contributing to Europe's Digital Single Market;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas small and medium-sized enterprises account for a large number of the companies in the European video games sector;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas many online video games aim to monetise their users through data collection and exposure to advertisements, creating an incentive to get users, including children, to spend as much time as possible on games;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas spending excessive amounts of time playing online video games can create addictions and lead to ‘gaming disorder’, and can also lead to consumer-protection related issues, in particular with regard to minorschildren;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Points out that certain game designs used for in-game purchasing systems can be particularly harmful when targeted at minochildren; calls for considering a ban from using deceptive designs to exploit consumers;, calls for such advertising to be banned when targeted at minors;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses that consumers should have all the necessary information about an online video game before starting to play it, as well as during the game, in terms of the multiple options for possible purchases while playing and other information that may be considered to be of interest; in particular, to better protect consumers (especially children) and help parents to understand and control their spending, all in-game purchases should also be denominated in a real-world currency next to any potential virtual currency;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission to make a legislative proposal on online video gaming to establish a European regulatory framework with the aim of harmonising rules between Member States andstudy how existing consumer protection laws and widely used ratings systems such as PEGI can be applied and enforced more uniformly across the Digital Single Market with the aim of better protecting players, in particular minors;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission to make a legislative proposal on online video gaming to establish a European regulatory framework with the aim of harmonising rules between Member States and better protecting players, in particular minorschildren;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Calls on the European Commission and the Network of Consumer Protection Authorities (CPC- Net), to ensure that consumer law is fully respected and enforced in the online video game sector;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Emphasises the importance of mental health, particularly that of minorschildren; stresses that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the situation, causing fear, isolation and a feeling of insecurity; calls for action to be taken by game developers to avoid problems related to addiction;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Stresses that online video games are important for education, lifelong learning and helping elderly people to keep engaging with society;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Proposes to organise a yearly EU online video game award in the European Parliament in Brussels, the 'Oscars of online video games', in order to highlight the importance for the European digital single market of companies producing online video games, many of which are SME's, in terms of jobs, growth and innovation;
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Welcomes industry-led initiatives such as Pan European Game Information (PEGI); considers that such a rating system can be particularly beneficial in providing information on the recommended minimum age and protecting minorschildren from inappropriate game content; welcomes the function which informs consumers if a game includes random pay-to-play features; notes that some countries have made the PEGI system law and calls on the Commission to explore the possibilities for entrenching it in EU law;
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Commission to assess how the PEGI systems are is being implemented in the different types of games available on the market and acrosss well as across all gaming platforms accessible in the Union, and to proposassess possible concrete actions to ensure they are PEGI system is being used effectively;