New York Gov. David Peterson signed a new law on Tuesday that will limiting video game content for children by restricting the rating system for video games. The new law requires parental controls on game consoles by 2010, as well as displays of prominent age ratings on game packages.

However, many rights groups have criticized it, calling it unconstitutional, and promised legal challenge against it. The New York Civil Liberties Union, together with the National Coalition Against Censorship argued that the bill is not a solution to the problem.

“Parents, not government committees, should be responsible for making those judgments,” said NYCLU executive director Donna Lieberman. “If the legislature wants to reduce youth violence, it should fund educational programs to teach students conflict resolution skills.”

According to the two organizations, the bill violates the First Amendment by trying to regulate how video games are sold and played based on content, which is normally protected from regulations. According to NYCLU, the bill infringes the right to free speech of video game creators, retailers and customers.

Video games are usually submitted to the Entertainment Software Ratings Board for rating, but Gov. Peterson, together with other politicians, believe that video games are responsible for promoting violence among young players, and should therefore be restricted.

In April this year, Stephen King spoke in a letter sent to Entertainment Weekly about a Massachusetts bill according to which video games depicting violence should not be sold to under-18 buyers. Kings agreed that young minds shouldn’t be under a constant barrage of violence, but at the same time, it’s not the games that alter their mind, as games are simply reflections of what goes around them in reality.

According to a study published by Australian researchers last year, only some of the children predisposed to violence became aggressive after playing video game content; however, the majority of the subjects studied did not.

Civil rights organizations have continuously argued that it shouldn’t be the government’s views that regulate video game rating, which violates the First Amendment; instead, it should be the parents’ choice what game their child can play based on the existing rating system.