CHICAGO – A federal judge has barred Chicago’s mass transit system from banning ads for video games that contain graphic violence, saying the measure is “overboard, ineffectual and not narrowly tailored.”
Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer issued a 22-page preliminary injunction against enforcement of the ban Thursday, saying it appears to violate the constitutional right to free speech. She issued a preliminary injunction against enforcing it.
Pallmeyer said Chicago Transit Authority trains and buses already have been found to be a public forum where free speech is protected.
CTA spokeswoman Catherine A. Hosinski issued a statement Friday saying the transit system disagrees with the ruling and is weighing its options.
The CTA imposed its ban on ads for video games that are rated “M” for mature or “AO” for adults only in January 2009, after a TV station criticized it for permitting an ad for the video game Grand Theft Auto IV. While the game contains graphic violence, the ad for it does not.
Video games with a rating of “M” or “AO” may contain graphic violence, sexual content or strong language.
The CTA said it was concerned that such video games could encourage youth violence. The CTA said 1.7 million people use the mass transit system every day, many of them youngsters going to or coming from school.
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