Don't get me wrong; I'm no fan of loot boxes. I just am amused (although sadly not particularly surprised) that this is apparently the most urgent issue on anybody's pile this week.
It's just that simple.
Now if I were EA (and other publishers) I'd throw 1/2 million at this senator. The best way to get him to shut up.
Moving on, I have to wonder whether you read the article if you're referring to Maggie Hassan as "him" and missing the point that asking the ESRB to voluntarily take action is a pretty softball maneuver. I'm not sure you want to "shut up" someone saying this kind of stuff:
> Hassan, who said she heard about loot boxes from a constituent, took time during the hearing to highlight the FTC's previous finding that the ESRB is "one of the most effective voluntary enforcement boards" in entertainment. "That is why I am confident that the ESRB will take this seriously... We should be doing all we can to protect our children and to inform parents about their options when it comes to these types of games."
A terrorist can kill a few dozen people once every few years, and suddenly we need a massive surveillance state, hundreds of billions spent on military and intelligence, "extreme vetting" of immigrants, travel bans, etc. But domestic mass shootings can happen on a weekly basis and it's business as usual.
the real issue privacy issues don't rank as high is because both political parties use the surveillance state to spy on Americans to curtail the other party more than protect the people. its a tool to them to intimidate people who get out of line