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In June, the Entertainment Software Association announced it would file suit against the state of Minnesota to stop the law, and today’s verdict comes as a result of that lawsuit. U.S. District Judge James M. Rosenbaum issued a decision saying the state had failed to provide any convincing evidence that minors are harmed by mature-rated videogames, and that the law violated the First Amendment. 

Rosenbaum also points out that the state cannot apply legal restrictions to a voluntary, private ratings system that uses its own standards to apply ratings. The decision reads: “Lacking a clear delineation of the standards used to determine a videogame’s rating, the State cannot rest legal implications upon them.”

“The First Amendment…was certainly established to keep the government from becoming the arbiter of what constitutes ‘worthless’ or ‘disgusting’ speech,” Rosenbaum wrote, referring to comments made by Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch, the bill’s author. “The Court declines the State’s invitation to enter into an evaluation of this kind.”

A permanent injunction was issued barring the state from enacting the law.