Politicians and Industry Celebrate Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle

One hundred high-ranking guests from the fields of business, society, politics and administration celebrated the USK's 30th anniversary with a ceremony. There were words of praise, particularly from the world of politics, but this was not always the case over the past 30 years.

The founding of the Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle, (literally Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body), or USK, as the self-regulatory body for the games industry in Germany. There was no legal requirement to label games at the time. And by no means all providers relied on the USK from the outset. Nintendo, for example, only joined many years later.

Today, the USK is a permanent and, above all, essential component of the system for the protection of minors in the media in Germany. The 100 guests who attended the anniversary ceremony at the  representation of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Berlin were of a correspondingly high calibre.

The guests were welcomed by Dr Matthias Roßbach (Head of the State Representation of North Rhine-Westphalia), Heico Michael Engelhardt (Chair of the USK Advisory Board) and Elisabeth Secker (USK Managing Director). They were congratulated by Dr Eva Flecken (Chair of the Directors' Conference of the State Media Authorities and Director of the Medienanstalt Berlin-Brandenburg) and Felix Falk (Managing Director of game – The German Games Industry Association). Lisa Paus (Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth) and Nathanael Liminski (Minister for Federal and European Affairs, International Affairs as well as Media and Head of the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia) sent their congratulations in a video message.

Federal Minister Lisa Paus emphasised the important work carried out by the Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body: "Over the past three decades, the USK has developed into an institution that provides guidance. The USK is an important ally for the Federal Youth Ministry. This has been particularly evident since the amendment of the Youth Protection Act. Since then, the USK has been examining games even more thoroughly and I am delighted to have them at our side. Thank you for 30 years of commitment to the protection of minors!"

"30 years of USK: With its tireless commitment, the USK has achieved great things for the video game industry and the establishment of this special medium in society," said Nathanael Liminski, Minister of Media for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

This was followed by Konstantina Charalampous from YouGov, who presented excerpts from the current study "The USK in the view of parents", which was commissioned by the USK on the occasion of the anniversary.

This was followed by a panel discussion on the topic ‘Next Generation Youth Protection: Who is Responsible?’ with Dr. Andreas Deimann (Head of Department, Ministry for Children, Youth, Family, Equality, Refugees and Integration of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia), Dr. Marc Jan Eumann (Director of the Media Authority of Rhineland-Palatinate, Chairman of the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media - KJM ), Sebastian Gutknecht (Director of the Federal Centre for the Protection of Children and Youth in the Media and KJM member), Eva Hanel (Deputy Director of the State Office for the Protection of Children and Young People in Lower Saxony and spokesperson for the youth protection experts at USK), Anna-Sophie Harling (Director of Global Public Policy at Epic Games) and host Elisabeth Secker.

Even though the USK is now firmly established as a partner in media and family policy, the mood in politics towards the USK has not always been good. During the so-called ‘killer game debate’ at the beginning of the 2000s, some politicians wanted games to be rated by the FSK film rating board. It was only when the German Protection of Young Persons Act was amended to make age rating mandatory for physical games that the USK won recognition from politicians. Incidentally, this change is still the reason why, in addition to the PEGI system in Europe, there is only one other rating system in Germany, the USK.