Operation: Game Over closes 2,100 online gaming accounts owned by sex offenders

A New York initiative called Operation: Game Over has closed 2,100 online gaming accounts associated with known sex offenders living in New York.

Publishers such as Sony, NCsoft, FunCom, THQ and Gaia Online have participated in the scheme. The drive has been made possible thanks to New York’s Electronic Securing and Targeting of Online Predators Act (e-STOP) which requires convicted sex offenders to share their email address and internet identities with the state.

"The internet is the crime scene of the 21st century, and we must ensure that online video game platforms do not become a digital playground for dangerous predators," Attorney General Eric Schneiderman stated, as reported by Polygon.

"That means doing everything possible to block sex offenders from using gaming systems as a vehicle to prey on underage victims. I applaud the online gaming companies that have purged registered sex offenders from their networks in time for the holiday season.

"Together, we are making the online community a safer place for the children of New York."

Apple, Blizzard, Disney Interactive, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, and Warner Bros Interactive closed 3,500 accounts earlier this year.