US lawmakers take aim at gaming’s “harassment and extremism” problem

US Congress members are once again turning their eyes toward the game industry. But this time the focus isn't on loot boxes, Hong Kong, or even video game violence. Instead, lawmakers want to know what gaming companies are doing about "player reports of harassment and extremism encounters in your online games."

There is a letter that seven Democratic legislators plan to send later today. The lawmakers are asking for more information on how those reports are handled, what data is collected about them, and whether the companies have "

The recipients of the congressional inquiry will include a number of major video game publishers, according to reports. Nintendo and other Asian gaming giants are not included in that list. A copy of the letter will be given to Innersloth, which is likely to reflect that game's impact over the company's size.

Steam’s neo-Nazi problem?

The prevalence of neo-Nazis, extremists, racial supremacists, misogynistic, and other hate speech can be found on Valve's platform. In a letter sent to Valve and obtained by Vice, Hassan points to the "pervasive" use of "terms and images commonly associated with neo-Nazi, extremist, and racial supremacist ideologies"

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Exposure to explicit, unambiguous, and pervasive symbols, visuals, and words associated with racial supremacy, neo-Nazism, antisemitism, gender-based violence or harassment, homophobia, and other harmful ideologies restricts and prevents many steam users from participating in communities free of harassing Allowing racist, antisemitic, and other hate speech to flourish online allows for the very real threat of violence in offline, physical spaces.

A recent report from the Anti-Defamation League suggests that 15 percent of people who play video games are exposed to white-supremacist ideology. According to the report, the incidence of "identity-based harassment" against groups like Jewish and Latino gaming groups increased dramatically.

The trial of David DePape, who is accused of attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, is still going on. The Gamergate movement may have been his entry into a world of paranoid right-wing conspiracy about the Pelosis.

While both letters request responses from the companies, neither comes with any explicit threat of follow-up action if those requests are ignored. That said, cooperating with lawmakers' requests could pay dividends if and when it comes to future hearings, proposed legislation, and/or threats of executive branch actions on these or other issues.