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by gnode 2432 days ago
The hypocrisy of Google notwithstanding, I'm not sure why something being included in Unicode should have any bearing on its societal acceptance or consequently its age rating.

The Swastika exists as a Unicode character, yet is outlawed in Germany, along with other Nazi-associated symbols (Strafgesetzbuch section 86a).

2 comments

I believe there are contexts where it's allowed, being part of Unicode I assume wouldn't be illegal.
While certain uses of the symbols are not illegal, they do have a negative effect on age ratings / classification board approvals (relevant to this discussion).

A famous example, is that Wolfenstein 3D was outright refused a rating in Germany. Arguably it may have been legal as artistic use, rather than propaganda promoting an unconstitutional organization, but that was not sufficient to get a rating.

The swastika symbol in Unicode is the Buddhist/Hindu swastika, not the Nazi swastika (which is tilted at 45°).
There are many swastika characters in Unicode, with different contexts, none of them being Nazi specifically. That's not to say that usage of any of them would inherently preclude them from being subject to section 86a.