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3,580 New York registered sex offenders have been banned from Xbox LIVE and PSN in addition to several other online services.

Codenamed "Operation: Game Over," this initiative which aims to protect children from predators in online games, was led by New York Attorney General Eric and joined by several companies including Microsoft, Apple, Sony, EA and Blizzard.

"We must ensure online video game systems do not become a digital playground for dangerous predators," the Attorney General commented. "That means doing everything possible to block sex offenders from using gaming networks as a vehicle to prey on underage victims."

But the New York Civil Liberties Union disagrees with Eric's logic. "While the intent here is admirable," the Union's communications director Jennifer Carnig said; "Schemes like this one do very little to keep children safe and trample on the right to free speech and expression."

"And the problem this initiative is trying to solve is almost non-existent. Children are almost always abused by people they know - a friend or family member - not by people they interact with while playing video games online."

To be honest, we don't see what would prevent a sex offender from using a friend's or a relative's id to login to any of the services he's been denied.