Valve accused of “allowing the proliferation of hate” on Steam

The Anti-Defamation League has accused Valve of “allowing the proliferation of hate” on its digital platform and store, Steam.

Analyzing the data at an “unprecedented scale across the platform,” the ADL’s Center on Extremism said that of the more than 458 million profiles, more than 152 million profile and group avatar images, and more than 610 million comments on user profiles and groups, it found “millions of examples of extremist and hate content, including explicit hate symbols.”

As reported by Eurogamer, in total, the analysis located 1.8 million “unique pieces” of extremist or hateful content, with 1.5 million unique users (and more than 70,000 groups) using “at least one symbol, copypasta or potentially extremist or hateful keyword. on the platform.”

Additionally, more than 820,000 avatars were identified with extremist or hateful symbols, including swastikas and hateful reimaginings of the “Pepe” meme. The report suggests that “these figures are likely to be conservative.”

“While Steam appears to be technically capable of moderating hateful and extremist content on its platform, the spread of extremist content on the platform is due in part to Valve’s highly permissive approach to content policy,” the organization said.

“In rare notable cases, Steam has selectively removed extremist content, largely based on extremist groups publicized in reports or in response to government pressure. However, this has been largely ad hoc, and Valve has not systematically addressed the issue. of extremism and hatred on the platform.”

The ADL is now urging Valve to adopt policies prohibiting extremism and hate, and to enforce the policies “with precision at scale.”