The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is the trade association of the video game industry in the United States. It's primarily seen as a sort of interest/pressure group for video game publishers, though the ESA represents the industry as a whole.
One of the organisations the ESA has been actively working against in recent years is Stop Killing Games, a consumer-led movement with the sole aim of passing legislation that compels publishers to give communities and/or players viable ways to keep playing a game once official support for the game has ended, e.g., facilitating the hosting of private servers.
As you can imagine, publishers do not want additional restrictions placed on their ability to wind down live-service games, and, as a result, have been dogged in their opposition to the movement.
Protect Our Games is a Stop Killing Games-endorsed act that's currently moving through California's legislative process. The bill was recently debated in the state senate.
These proceedings produced a baffling statement from the ESA's vice-president for state government affairs, Jennifer Gibbons, who responded to a comment made by state assemblymember Chris Ward regarding community servers.
"Minecraft is currently hosted by community servers, Call of Duty has...
