Happy Birthday, ECA

The baby is growing up so quickly!

The Entertainment Consumers Association has reached the ripe old age of two. Of the milestone, ECA president Hal Halpin commented:

In just over two years, the ECA has brought together a politically-charged video game community [and] united to rally against efforts singling out videogames from the First Amendment protections enjoyed by other forms of entertainment.

 

We are humbled by the strength of what a unified consumer voice can accomplish, and challenge gamers everywhere to empower themselves and their communities by becoming more educated, active and involved, and leveraging the ECA's services as a platform to rise against unjust legislation and ignorance.

An ECA press release names some of the organization's accomplishments on behalf of gamers, including:

• The ECA has made great strides in legislation, building productive relationships and joining coalition partnerships with other established non-profit and public interest organizations, such as the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), Rock the Vote, Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), Verizon, Connected Nation, Free Press, International Game Developers Association (IGDA), and many others, who have embraced its mission.
• Under the ECA, independent topical groups are established for members to stand behind their most pertinent issues and actively outreach to form partnerships with other non-profit and corporate entities in support of their topics. These groups rally around such issues as video game violence legislation, Fair use -- as it relates to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), e-waste, net neutrality, video game tax, universal broadband, parental empowerment, the regulation of video games, and more.
• The ECA has made it a priority to partner with the major enthusiast media outlets in order to address the single greatest ongoing challenge: the education of members, the industry and the general public.
• The ECA is rapidly broadening its reach through an expansive national network of regional chapters powered by local gaming communities and college campuses across the country. They adopt the collective goal of educating on political issues directly affecting the interactive entertainment industry, connecting consumers with like-minded gamers in their area, and offering access to a larger professional network for career and educational opportunities within the gaming industry.

Full press release here.

GP: Quick, someone, Photoshop an ECA birthday cake and send it to me!

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.