This weekValvestarted deleting profiles and images used on Steam displaying or promoting Nazi symbolism. The move was influenced by a German television and radio regulatory group where such symbols and hate speech are not tolerated.This sentiment is shared by many companies worldwide, but some are slower to take action. Germany’s Media Agency Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein prompted the move to convince Valve to delete the controversial profiles.
Valve, the company responsible for smash-hit games like Portal, Half-Life, andthe highly anticipated new Alyx game, has had several reports of hate groups actively using their servers but many of the claims have to be put through a rigorous vetting process. In the past, Valve has been fairly passive about their controversial content, including a game on their list of games promoting school shooting calledActive Shooter. Only recently has the Steam owner been more active, and in 2018, Valve quietly started deleting profiles that were associated with hate groups after it was widely reported in Vice and other publications about racist, homophobic, and other hateful rhetoric.
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However, the approach was not well informed and left several groups still active.Valve has also recently joined the Blizzard controversyby blocking certain games that are Hong Kong protest-related. Although Valve has still yet to officially comment on their inaction with China, they have absolutely taken action in regards to the Nazi affiliated groups on Steam.
This action was coerced by the German-led Media Authority of Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein (more commonly known as “MA HSH” group) where any reference, propaganda, or symbolism is strictly forbidden and incredibly illegal. The group referred to active users with handles like “Fuhrer,” and “Holocaust” as being offensive. This kind of language is only allowed in very specialized cases like teaching or very specific satire. It was only in 2018 that Germanylifted its ban on Nazi symbolism portrayed in video gamesallowing such games as Wolfenstein to be sold.
With very few exceptions, Valve removed all profiles associated with Nazi content. MA HSH found approximately 30 profiles and 50 cases of criminal content which was reported and addressed by Valve. Not many companies have much tolerance for hate speech,even if it is done in a joking manner, but Valve is learning from the experience. Many larger tech companies have to deal with monitoring their users, and several miss the mark. MA HSH noted that adults and young adults alike use services like Steam, “However, right-wing extremists also use the platform to propagate their propaganda and recruit new followers.” Valve has struggled with monitoring their users in the past but has pledged to train their employees to do better in the future.
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