President Donald Trump said that he would meet executives from the video gaming industry next week, to discuss and find ways to educate students and school staff in identifying and reporting the potentially dangerous situations, referring to the recent school violence in Parkland, Florida, which left 17 students and faculty members dead. The meeting was announced at the White House on Thursday.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Press Secretary, told reporters that, “Next week he’ll also be meeting with members of the video game industry to see what they can do on that front as well.” Sarah further that, “This is going to be an ongoing process and something that we don’t expect to happen overnight. But something that we’re going to be engaged in and continue to look for the best ways possible to make sure we’re doing everything we can to protect schools across the country.”
So far, the video gaming industry giants such as Microsoft, PlayStation, Nintendo, Electronic Arts , and Activision have confirmed that none of the companies received invitations on the subject to meet the president.
In a statement, on Thursday, a group reportedly said, “The same video games played in the US are played worldwide; however, the level of gun violence is exponentially higher in the US than in other countries. Numerous authorities have examined the scientific record and found there is no link between media content and real-life violence.”
The group further added, “The US video game industry has a long history of partnering with parents and more than 20 years of rating video games through the Entertainment Software Rating Board. We take great steps to provide tools to help players and parents make informed entertainment decisions.”
However, President Donald Trump has raised concerns over the violence in games and movies, which can be an influence for shooters, during a recent meeting with administration officials and lawmakers at the White House. The President also proposed a rating system that will help identify movies and games with potentially disturbing violence by the public.
In last week’s meeting at the White House, President Donald Trump expressed his concerns, saying, “I’m hearing more and more people say the level of violence on video games is really shaping young people’s thoughts. And you go one further step and that’s the movies. … Maybe they have to put a rating system for that. ”
President Donald Trump has been active on gun control measures and met several lawmakers from both parties, GOP members and executives from the National Rifle Association, to place restrictions on gun control and stricter background checks, including a proposal to retrieve the firearm from people deemed dangerous.