Yet another country has decided to ban online games over fears of addiction and negative influence on youth. The Iraqi parliament voted this past Wednesday to ban an undisclosed number of online video games including Fortnite and PUBG, citing “negative effects caused by some electronic games on the health, culture, and security of Iraqi society, including societal and moral threats to children and youth” as the reason for the move.
As one would expect, the decision was not met with a great deal of praise. Hundreds of Iraqis took to social media to rake the country’s parliament over the coals for the decision, calling the resolution a case of misplaced priorities.
The country of Iraq still struggles with providing basic necessities like power and water, and unemployment among young people is widespread. The only other piece of legislation passed by the Iraq parliament was a 2019 federal budget law in January.
