Mexico‘s leader has issued a series of recommendations for caution over games such as GTA V, Free Fire and others. For once, the government has reason to warn gamers to be careful, not because of their aggressiveness but because of the criminals who infiltrate them.

Video games continue to dominate the political debate in some countries to the extent that they are considered a public health priority. In this sense, we join today the statements made by the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, in which he announced that his government is seeking a more responsible use of technology following a child abduction case.

“We are going to send a message to families: mothers, fathers, children, adolescents, about the risks of electronic games, Nintendo, all these things that are very violent and undoubtedly affect children,” he said. “Of course we are free, it is forbidden to ban, it is best to limit ourselves and that we all act responsibly. But if we consider that, we have to be careful and devote more time to children and adolescents,” he added.

¡Va AMLO contra los video juegos! Hoy en #LaMañanera, el presidente López Obrador dijo que enviarán un mensaje a las familias, padres, madres, niños y adolescentes, sobre el riesgo que significan los video juegos, ‘el Nintendo’, “por todo esto que resulta muy violento”. pic.twitter.com/EQO76f7WPy

— José Luis Morales (@JLM_Noticias) October 20, 2021

The Ministry of Security then announced a series of recommendations, asking parents and children to be more careful with their online activities, avoid chatting with strangers and share personal information. In addition, they shared a list of video games that criminals appear to be used to target young people, after mentioning at the beginning of the news a case in which a minor befriended a criminal through the game Free Fire.

“This incident happened from a mobile video game, but it could also happen through PlayStation, Xbox or Nintendo Switch consoles,” they added, listing several video games known to the general public, such as Grand Theft Auto V, Call of Duty, PUBG Mobile, Gears of War, or Fortnite.

These statements and measures by the Mexican government do not go beyond a recommendation. Still, they do put the spotlight on the issue of video games and aggression (unfortunately, this time, they also conflate the alleged adverse effects of games with the activities of cheaters and other criminals from all over the world, including, obviously, in the online gaming world – ed. ) Thus, these statements are reminiscent of those made by politicians in the US, including former President Donald Trump, who blamed video games for school and high school shootings (without a word about social problems, even though they have much more to do with the rise of any extremism – ed.).

Source: Twitter