Why Does Indiana Hate Redbox?

This week the office of Vanderburgh County, Indiana Prosecutor Stanley Levco threatened criminal charges against retailers with DVD rental kiosks on their premises unless they remove R-rated movies and other material considered harmful to children. The office of the prosecutor cites an Indiana law prohibiting dissemination of matter harmful to minors, a Class D felony.

Any action taken against movie rental kiosks would primarily affect Redbox, with 880 machines in Indiana. Competitors Movie Cube and Blockbuster Express also operate kiosks in Indiana, but only have about 16 locations combined in the state, according to the websites of each company.

Letters sent to retailers in recent weeks by the office of Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Stanley Levco may amount to the largest crackdown yet in Indiana.
It's driven, at least in part, by the kiosks' old-school competitors -- the brick-and-mortar video stores that say they provide safeguards by requiring customers renting R-rated DVDs to show ID.
Kiosks, they say, aren't playing by the same rules, though Redbox officials say their kiosks require customers to affirm their age and are on firm legal ground.
"I'm not on a crusade," said Paul Black, an Evansville attorney who says he suggested the inquiry to Levco's office on behalf of a client who operates several video store locations. "We're just looking for a level playing field here."
Black, who declined to identify his client, said Levco's office sent letters to about a dozen stores in Vanderburgh County.
Video Buyers Group, a trade organization representing 1,700 independent video store owners, also has been in contact with Levco about his latest action against kiosks, said Jon Engen, the organization's marketing manager.

This is not the first time Redbox has had trouble in Indiana. In late 2007, Union City, Indiana officials were successful in having Redbox remove R-rated films from McDonald's locations. Then, in 2008, the city of Winchester raised the same issue with Redbox locations at Walmart.

Arguments about the appropriateness of movie ratings aside, forcing a company to carry only G-rated films would effectively drive it out of business. A quick look at box office results shows less than 10 new films were released in 2009 that were rated G. Expanding this search to PG shows about 35 more new films released in 2009. Film ratings are a result of a voluntary system put in place by the MPAA to guide parents and do not reflect or constitute law. No law states films must be rated or that retailers or theaters must abide by MPAA ratings.

Does this represent some vendetta Indiana officials seem to have against the movie vending company? Are residents of Indiana more conservative than those of the average state? Or, as suggested by the article, are Indiana officials susceptible to influence by competing brick-and-mortar video stores and their trade organizations?

In a world where any content imaginable can be almost instantly accessed in any home with an internet connection, or on your child's mobile phone or handheld video game, this is an example of officials that are stuck in decades-old thinking and are out of touch with reality.

[via Courier-Journal]