“Game content does not cause real-world violence,” says Stang, an assistant professor of game studies at Brock University.
Women reported threats of rape and death. Some were doxxed – having one’s identifying information, including home address, published with malicious intent. It’s only when there are concerns about democracy or threats against people or government institutions that things become more serious, she says. Much of the government’s concern about the risk for radicalization through video games relates to what are called gaming-adjacent platforms, such as the messaging app Discord, the streaming platform Twitch and the digital distribution service Steam.Canada can’t do it alone, adds the centre’s executive director, Robert Burley.
Games and gaming-adjacent platforms have content guidelines and measures in place to protect users, but rules can be bent or sidestepped. As technology has evolved, so have tactics used by hate groups and people looking to block them out. A Reddit spokesperson says the platform uses automated tools, user reports and internal escalation processes to flag anything that violates its content policies.
The number of safety staff is tiny compared to the 71.5 million daily active users that Roblox says it had in the last three months of 2023.