unimelb-nlp/MultiEup-v2 huggingface dataset:
Debate: Consumer protection in online video games: a European Single Market approach
Date: TUESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Pablo Arias Echeverría
Political group: PPE
Country: Spain
Language: ES

Señor presidente, señor comisario, es indudable que en los últimos años se ha producido un impresionante auge del sector de los videojuegos, un sector cultural y digital altamente innovador en la Unión Europea. Celebro los objetivos que se marcan en este informe, en el que recordamos que debemos aspirar a ser líderes del mercado mundial de videojuegos, siempre promocionando el desarrollo del talento y nuestra manera de hacer las cosas, nuestro mercado y nuestras reglas. Me gustaría destacar cuatro aspectos clave en este sentido.  El primero, los efectos positivos de los videojuegos y su valor cultural. Hablamos siempre o muchas veces de los efectos nocivos, pero centrémonos en el valor creativo único que este sector tiene. Los videojuegos pueden brindar canales interactivos con fines educativos y formativos. Legislemos y trabajemos para que sea también una vía cultural. El segundo, los mecanismos fundamentales para proteger al consumidor, especialmente a los menores. La mitad de los europeos que usan estas plataformas tiene entre seis y veinticuatro años. Son imprescindibles las herramientas útiles de control parental, por lo que tenemos que comunicar más y mejor. En tercer lugar, los proveedores de servicios. El funcionamiento de los juegos en línea depende de la conectividad y de unas infraestructuras sólidas. El metaverso, la inteligencia artificial o la transformación de internet del 2D al 3D. Son muchas las iniciativas digitales que se avecinan y es esencial que garanticemos el buen funcionamiento de las redes solventes que puedan sustentar esta conectividad. Por último, celebro que se haya incluido a las personas con discapacidad en el texto. El mercado único europeo también debe ser inclusivo y accesible.  Creo que la ponente, Adriana Maldonado, ha hecho un gran trabajo junto a los ponentes alternativos y, por eso, creo que hay que apoyar este informe de propia iniciativa.
Debate: Consumer protection in online video games: a European Single Market approach
Date: TUESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Maria-Manuel Leitão-Marques
Political group: S-D
Country: Italy
Language: PT

Senhor Presidente, Senhor Comissário, o mundo dos videojogos evoluiu muito desde o tempo em que se soprava nas cassetes Nintendo para fazer o jogo funcionar. Hoje, para além das consolas e dos computadores, jovens e adultos jogam quase todos ligados à Internet.  Se isso abriu muitas oportunidades e ajudou a que os videojogos se tornassem numa indústria com grande impacto económico, também trouxe alguns perigos para os consumidores. Destaco apenas alguns.  Por vezes, a instalação dos videojogos é gratuita. A remuneração para as empresas resulta da recolha de dados pessoais, que depois alimentam publicidade dirigida, ou da venda de produtos, dentro dos próprios jogos, o que requer que os jogadores fiquem presos ao ecrã. É importante, por isso, reforçar o controlo parental, limitar práticas comerciais manipuladoras e a recolha de dados pessoais, de modo a prevenir impactos negativos na vida diária, incluindo financeiros, e até problemas de saúde mental, sobretudo nos mais jovens.  Com este relatório, Senhor Comissário, pedimos-lhe que estude o problema e sugerimos algumas soluções para garantir que os videojogos online, tal como as velhinhas consolas, são um momento seguro de diversão e até de aprendizagem.
Debate: Consumer protection in online video games: a European Single Market approach
Date: TUESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Dita Charanzová
Political group: Renew
Country: France
Language: EN

Mr President, Mr Commissioner, video games are not new, video games are not evil, as some in the nineties would have us think. Video games are just as much part of our culture as our music and films. It is part of being European and our identities. We have a strong gaming industry in Europe and this is something we should treasure.  At the same time, we must recognise that video games have moved past the single-player adventure games of the past. These are new worlds with new financial models, where players interact with ever-changing games and an infinite number of other users.  We must take care that this new reality still respects basic values and honesty was users and their families. If we give our children unlimited candy, they will eat themselves until they are sick. If you let an adult gamble with someone else’s money, they will gamble until it is gone.  Video games can be true pieces of art; I only hope that we can keep them that way.
Debate: Consumer protection in online video games: a European Single Market approach
Date: TUESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Marcel Kolaja
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: Germany
Language: EN

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, as many mentioned, video games are a highly innovative digital sector in Europe, and therefore we need to realise that building a trustworthy online environment and increasing consumer trust can boost the economic growth.  Therefore we need to evaluate where the current consumer protection legislation already covers unfair practices and dark patterns, and where protection from addicting techniques is missing.  At the same time, I would like to highlight that many games are based on collaborative creation, so we need to be really careful when referring to child labour. I also want to warn against the mandatory introduction of age verification as it raises concerns over privacy.  Finally, we absolutely need to refrain from calling or, even worse, mandating the use of automated tools to ‘protect’ users from harmful content, because they are inefficient and have negative consequences on freedom of expression, access to information and creativity, which I believe is related to what you said, Commissioner, when you referred to our legislation proposed by the Commission in 2022 – I’m finishing President – that I believe was a fight against child sexual abuse. When you refer to grooming, that is also known as chat control that legislation – I believe that chat control will not help us to fight sexual abuse and we need to be really careful how we do that because we want to fight it, but not this way.
Debate: Consumer protection in online video games: a European Single Market approach
Date: TUESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Dorien Rookmaker
Political group: ECR
Country: Netherlands
Language: EN

Mr President, Commissioner, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it – this should be the important guideline for EU institutions to cope with the risk of overregulation.  The rapporteur has made a balanced report about consumer protection in the gaming industry. There is no real problem but she demands more regulation. She states explicitly that the existing consumer protection regulation is a strong basis for people who play games, especially children. The gaming industry itself made a classification system and a code of conduct that helps parents choose the right games for their children and industry to act responsibly.  The current rules are sufficient to protect our children. The weak link in the system is the inability of our Member States to enforce rules. It makes no sense to make more rules if the current ones pose a serious challenge for our law enforcement. The EU is a law-making factory, but in this case it would be wise to restrain ourselves and let the sector take its responsibility and parents do the guidance. If we take away responsibility by regulating everything and everyone, we lose the fundamentals of a stable society.
Debate: Consumer protection in online video games: a European Single Market approach
Date: TUESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Ivan Štefanec
Political group: PPE
Country: Netherlands
Language: SK

Vážený pán predsedajúci. Videohry patria medzi najrýchlejšie rastúce odvetvie v oblasti kultúry a kreatívneho priemyslu. Veľkosť trhu v Európe sa odhaduje na viac ako 23 miliárd eur, čo je už viac ako v hudobnom či filmovom priemysle. S odvetvím súvisí viac ako 90-tisíc pracovných miest a tento počet neustále rastie. Je preto nevyhnutné, aby sme venovali dostatočnú pozornosť aj tomuto odvetviu a nastavili preň vyvážené pravidlá, ktoré zabezpečia jasné a bezpečné fungovanie trhu s videohrami tak, aby mohlo byť prínosom v oblasti tvorby pracovných miest, kultúry a inovácií. Je dôležité si tiež uvedomiť, že s videohrami sa aktívne stretáva až 73 percent detí vo veku od 6 do 10 rokov a až 84 percent tínedžerov. Potrebujeme preto zároveň vytvoriť dostatočný ochranný mechanizmus pre to, aby sme ochránili tých najzraniteľnejších. Jednak pred nevhodným obsahom, a jednak pred hrozbou závislosti. Je dobrou správou, že práve tento návrh predstavuje aj vyvážený kompromis pre bezpečný rozvoj odvetvia videohier.
Debate: Consumer protection in online video games: a European Single Market approach
Date: TUESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Catharina Rinzema
Political group: Renew
Country: Spain
Language: NL

Voorzitter, commissaris, de afgelopen jaren is de gamingindustrie dankzij vele midden- en kleinbedrijven sterk gegroeid. Dit heeft gezorgd voor veel technologische ontwikkeling en banen in de EU. Het staat vast: de gamingsector heeft heel veel potentie. Maar laten we ook stilstaan bij wie deze spelletjes gebruiken. Want zeker driekwart van de gamers is tussen de zes en veertien jaar oud. Kinderen mogen in onlinegames niet worden blootgesteld aan extreem geweld en agressieve commerciële reclame. Wees verzekerd: op onlinespelsites zullen wij er alles aan doen om seksueel misbruik en uitbuiting van kinderen tegen te gaan. Dit doen we door eisen te stellen aan duidelijke informatie over de minimumleeftijd van games. Dit doen we ook door streng op te treden tegen manipulatieve praktijken in games, zoals het gebruik van
Debate: Consumer protection in online video games: a European Single Market approach
Date: TUESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Denis Nesci
Political group: ECR
Language: IT

Signor Presidente, signor Commissario, onorevoli colleghi, per il settore dei videogiochi online, è indubbio che occorra un approccio a livello di mercato unico europeo, perché nella grande platea dei consumatori un ampio spazio è ricoperto dai minori. Pertanto, una risoluzione che vada nella direzione dell'irrobustimento della protezione degli utenti è un passo importante per la costruzione di un ambiente online sicuro per tutti i fruitori.  In questo senso, il sistema di etichettatura PEGI, attuato solo in alcuni paesi membri, risulta essere uno strumento efficace nel fornire informazioni sull'età minima raccomandata e nel proteggere i minori da contenuti inappropriati nei giochi e nell'intercettare gli elementi d'azzardo come scrigni con vincite aleatorie e scatole misteriose a pagamento, i cosiddetti  Ma questo rischia di non bastare se l'Europa non riuscirà a garantire un'ulteriore protezione dei consumatori attraverso un'attuazione capillare del sistema PEGI nei diversi tipi di giochi disponibili sul mercato e soprattutto in Europa. Non è da sottovalutare il fatto che il volume dei giochi online stia assumendo dimensioni sempre maggiori.  L'Unione dunque dovrà adottare misure in grado di governare il fenomeno a tutela dei consumatori e soprattutto delle giovanissime generazioni. Il rischio è quello di esporli a un percorso diseducativo e fuorviante rispetto ai valori di svago e di intrattenimento ai quali i videogiochi online dovrebbero riferirsi, perché sono convinto che i giochi digitali possano avere un ruolo decisivo per lo sviluppo dei minori e dei ragazzi in età adolescenziale solo se in grado di favorire processi di approfondimento e di acquisizione di nuove competenze e soprattutto in grado di stimolare la loro creatività.
Debate: Consumer protection in online video games: a European Single Market approach
Date: TUESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Tomislav Sokol
Political group: PPE
Country: Italy
Language: HR

Poštovani predsjedavajući potpredsjedniče, povjereniče, kolegice i kolege, na godišnjoj razini, tržište videoigara u Europskoj uniji vrijedi više od 23 milijarde eura, uz stalnu tendenciju rasta što pogoduje stvaranju visoko plaćenih radnih mjesta. Činjenica je da video igre igraju osobe svih dobnih skupina, međutim, posebno osjetljiva skupina među njima su djeca koja često razvijaju ovisnost o video igrama te ih moramo dodatno zaštititi. U tom smislu ističem važnost razvoja mehanizama roditeljskog nadzora pristupa djece video igrama i komunikacije koju djeca ostvaruju igrajući igre. Zato pozivam Europsku komisiju da predstavi europsku strategiju za video igre kojom bi se realizirao puni potencijal ovog sektora uz poseban naglasak na sigurnost djece. Ta strategija trebala bi razlikovati video igre od igara na sreću, pri čemu bi države članice dodatno imale dužnost stvoriti sigurno okruženje za potrošače i u području igara na sreću. Vrijeme je da iskoristimo potencijal industrije video igara, ali istovremeno osiguramo i zaštitu onih najranjivijih - djece.
Debate: Consumer protection in online video games: a European Single Market approach
Date: TUESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Heléne Fritzon
Political group: S-D
Country: Austria
Language: SV

Herr talman! Kommissionen! Datorspel är ju mer än bara underhållning. Det är en viktig del av vår kultur och vår identitet, men också en stor näring. Datorspel är en källa till glädje och gemenskap, samtidigt som de kan bidra till viktiga färdigheter som problemlösning, samarbete och kreativitet.  Men i vårt arbete får vi aldrig blunda för de negativa effekterna. Vi måste säkerställa inkludering, jämställdhet och främjande av en rättvis och säker miljö att spela i. Ett starkt och säkert konsumentskydd är därför avgörande.  Vi socialdemokrater vill att så många människor som möjligt ska ha möjligheten att glädjas åt dessa datorspel. Vi kommer att fortsätta arbeta för att alla spelare ska ha rätt till en säker och positiv spelupplevelse. Inte minst är detta viktigt för alla barn och unga.
Debate: Consumer protection in online video games: a European Single Market approach
Date: TUESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Beata Mazurek
Political group: ECR
Country: Malta
Language: PL

Panie Przewodniczący! Szanowni Państwo! 10 listopada ubiegłego roku, tu, w tym parlamencie przyjęto rezolucję w sprawie e-sportu i gier wideo. Teraz debatujemy nad kolejnym sprawozdaniem w tym zakresie. Nie można w ten sposób tworzyć przewidywalnego otoczenia prawnego dla producentów gier - ważnej europejskiej branży, jeżeli co dwa miesiące będziemy uchwalać regulacje, które zawierają inne zalecenia. Mam wiele zastrzeżeń do tego sprawozdania, chociażby system weryfikacji tożsamości i wieku, naruszający prywatność użytkowników. Od wielu lat istnieje klasyfikacja gier wideo PEGI, która pomaga rodzicom dobrać grę do wieku swoich dzieci. Za jej pomocą oraz dzięki coraz lepszym narzędziom kontroli rodzicielskiej rodzice mogą z powodzeniem sprawować nadzór nad tym, w co grają ich dzieci. Nie ma potrzeby, żeby Komisja wchodziła dodatkowo w ten obszar, gdyż to jest zbyt daleko idąca ingerencja. Podobnie próbuje się ingerować, poprzez wzywanie do zapewnienia równowagi gender na wszystkich etapach tworzenia gier online. Gry są dziełem artystycznym. Próba rozliczenia ich twórców z pewnością nie ma nic wspólnego z wolnością stanowiącą fundament naszych wartości.
Debate: Consumer protection in online video games: a European Single Market approach
Date: TUESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Deirdre Clune
Political group: PPE
Country: France
Language: EN

Mr President, I think we should all acknowledge that the gaming industry plays a really important role in the European Union. In recent times, during the pandemic, we saw the real value of the industry in terms of the opportunity for socialising, for communicating, entertainment, the opportunities for jobs, businesses and also the real value in encouraging creativity and innovation.  We see that 50 % of the population between 6 and 64 play video games, so that’s a strong industry, but we need to ensure regulation that will provide confidence to consumers, that their rights and that the online safety are concerns that they would have for their children are addressed.  That’s why this report is asking that the current regulatory framework for loot boxes is sufficient, that will be examined, and that the situation of minors in particular is examined. With regard to loot boxes, a report for the IMCO Committee outlined the potential exposure to psychological and financial losses. This study was done by the policy department and also outlined if it can be exploitative, lack transparency, create unfair gaming advantages. So we need to have these findings and these concerns addressed to give security to EU citizens.
Debate: Consumer protection in online video games: a European Single Market approach
Date: TUESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Salvatore De Meo
Political group: PPE
Country: Czechia
Language: IT

Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, voglio ringraziare la relatrice per il lavoro svolto, per aver saputo coniugare un testo dove bisogna considerare un settore importante per il mercato unico, ma anche la tutela del consumatore.  L'industria europea dei videogiochi è il settore culturale e creativo che ha una crescita maggiore in Europa, contribuisce allo sviluppo di nuove tecnologie ed è un settore che dà oltre 90 000 posti di lavoro in tutta Europa. Però non possiamo ignorare i risvolti pericolosi di un uso improprio e poco moderato dei videogiochi, come è stato detto, che possono avere un impatto negativo sulle relazioni sociali, sulla salute mentale, sul lavoro e sul rendimento accademico.  Anche io pongo la questione sulle scatole premio, le cosiddette  Credo che la Commissione debba valutare se l'attuale quadro normativo per quanto riguarda queste scatole premio e gli acquisti
Debate: Consumer protection in online video games: a European Single Market approach
Date: TUESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Tom Vandenkendelaere
Political group: PPE
Country: Austria
Language: NL

Voorzitter, commissaris, collega’s, een aantal maanden geleden zijn we er hier in geslaagd om met de Digital Services Act de wereld van onlineplatformen een pak veiliger te maken voor de consument en zeker voor minderjarigen. Vandaag stel ik vast dat die bescherming in de Europese gamingindustrie nog onvoldoende is. De zogenaamde in-game aankopen, of inderdaad de
Debate: Consumer protection in online video games: a European Single Market approach
Date: TUESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Niklas Nienaß
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: Bulgaria
Language: EN

Mr President, we already had a report about video games from the CULT Committee, which focused on the benefits, on the creativity, on the jobs that we have, on the big support that we want to send the sector. This report focused very much on the importance of the protection of consumers, and that is very, very important. On the one hand, it’s about online communities, to fight against sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, mobbing of each sort. And we can use filters for that, but I think it’s not really worth it, it’s something about a change of mind, change of community, where we need to approach. On the other hand, we have the big importance of corporate ideas. They have models of games where they try to improve the focus on loot boxes, where they try to make it as opaque as possible when it comes to in-game currencies and weird monetisation. So some developers have become really more like shell players with better graphics and that is gambling. Gambling is dangerous and we need to avoid gambling, especially when it comes to minors. Therefore, dear Commissioner, as many have said before me, ban all loot boxes, ban all gambling and ban everything that has gambling-like mechanics because it is dangerous for our citizens.
Debate: Consumer protection in online video games: a European Single Market approach
Date: TUESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Brando Benifei
Political group: S-D
Country: Italy
Language: IT

Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, è molto importante che il Parlamento europeo abbia deciso di fare queste relazioni sui videogiochi e gli sport.  Si tratta di un tema che va trattato con attenzione, con cura, anche valorizzando azioni come l'approccio PEGI, che è stato messo in campo, che permette di avere diritti chiari e trasparenza, oltre che il lavoro che noi abbiamo portato avanti per aumentare le tutele e la valorizzazione degli aspetti positivi dei videogames, che sono tantissimi, di apprendimento, di sviluppo cognitivo.  Ovviamente i rischi vanno verificati, vanno contenuti, vanno controllati, ma penso che con un'azione come quella che stiamo portando avanti potremo valorizzare un settore che crea molto lavoro, crea opportunità e che deve essere uno dei nostri ambiti di impegno in Europa per avere un ambiente di gioco sano e sicuro per tutte e tutti.
Debate: Consumer protection in online video games: a European Single Market approach
Date: TUESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Maria Walsh
Political group: PPE
Country: Austria
Language: EN

Mr President, I welcome the findings of this report and its aim to strengthen consumer protection and the single market, as both go hand in hand. I believe we are looking at and we could see opportunities to drive and support policies and regulations tailored to the industry of gaming and e—sports industries, and they want to be at the table of this conversation. I call for the swift transposition and implementation of this directive on contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services. It will give further confidence to consumers, especially, as many colleagues have shared, the PEGI label for parents and their children. These measures will help both consumers and the gaming industry as it will give confidence to the consumers and the industry and will offer clear parameters in which to operate and build their businesses. Finally may I add, because it was mentioned by a colleague of mine, as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the creation of the single market, we must ensure its readiness for the digital age.
Debate: Consumer protection in online video games: a European Single Market approach
Date: TUESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Seán Kelly
Political group: PPE
Country: Greece
Language: EN

All that is positive. But I think it’s great that the Commission and Parliament are coming together to limit its negative effects – things like glorifying violence, things like grooming, things like encouraging gambling. And I think collectively we can do a great service to our young people and also, indeed, to the industry itself so that it does what it is supposed to do: provide clean entertainment to our young people.
Debate: Consumer protection in online video games: a European Single Market approach
Date: TUESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Didier Reynders
Language: EN

As I shared earlier, the Commission has launched important initiatives to mitigate concerns as regards consumer protection in the field of video games. These include better implementation of the existing EU consumer protection rules, as well as the actions under the ‘better internet for kids’ strategy. Moreover, the ongoing fitness check of consumer law will specifically address the protection of consumers in video games. You can rest assured that the Commission is committed to continuing to protect EU consumers, in particular young people, while ensuring that the video game industry can continue its contributions to the digital economy and in bringing joy to the gamers. So thank you for the report, thank you for your balanced approach and thank you for your attention.