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Steam is 'an unsafe place for teens and young adults': US senator warns Gabe Newell of 'more intense scrutiny' from the government if Valve doesn't take action against extremist content (www.pcgamer.com)
submitted 2 years ago by [M] to c/games@sh.itjust.works
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[–] 16 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (8 children)

I think you missed the first sentence of my comment. Games have been blamed above other media for years and years and years. That is not whataboutism.

Edit: or the last sentence for that matter.

It's almost like this kind of content on Steam is a symptom of a bigger problem.

I never suggested that Steam doesn't need improvement. There is extremist content being posted. But it is definitely part of a larger (frankly, much more obvious) problem. Calling attention to a root cause is just not whataboutism.

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  • [–] 12 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    From another article talking about this:

    For years, Sen. Warner, a former tech entrepreneur, has been raising the alarm about rise of hate-fueled content proliferating online, as well as the threat posed by domestic and foreign bad actors circulating disinformation. Recently, he pressed directly for action from Discord, another video game-based social networking site that is hosting violent predatory groups that coerce minors into self-harm and suicide. He has also called attention to the rise of pro-eating disorder content on AI platforms. A leader in the tech space, Sen. Warner has also lead the charge for broad Section 230 reform to allow social media companies to be held accountable for enabling cyber-stalking, harassment, and discrimination on their platforms.

    The linked Section 230 Reform details

    He's targeting all kinds of social media, not just gaming platforms.

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  • [+] -6 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    You literally said “what about” in your comment. You specifically argued that the problem lay elsewhere, and Steam is just a symptom. Attempting to absolve Steam of culpability in the problem because “games get blamed above other media” is absolutely whataboutism. It’s a bad argument.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago* (4 children)

    You literally said “what about” in your comment.

    Do you legitimately think that any use of the words "what about" makes something whataboutism?

    You specifically argued that the problem lay elsewhere

    Again, you seem to have missed the point of the comment. I did not deny that Steam needs improvement. Things can be symptoms of larger problems, and calling that out is not whataboutism (to the contrary, the purpose of whataboutism is to suggest that there is no problem with item X -- not that item X is a symptom of item Y).

    Edit: clarity

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  • [+] -6 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    Do you legitimately think that any use of the words "what about" makes something whataboutism?

    No, that’s not what makes it whataboutism. That’s just a funny bit of your comment. What makes it whataboutism is your continued insistence that the problematic behavior is sourced from elsewhere. That’s not how things work. The right-wing extremism on Steam isn’t a symptom of extremism elsewhere. It isn’t sourced from elsewhere. It’s there on Steam, because the source for it is the same on Steam as it is on Twitter, right-wing extremist users. Suggesting that it is derived from the other sites implies that Valve is less responsible for it than other sites, which doesn’t make any sense. Furthermore, your argument in your comment is based on your perception of victimhood of video games by other media, which isn’t relevant to the conversation at all.

    And finally, the fact that Steam supposedly has, by your estimation and without any supporting evidence, less right-wing extremism than other sites doesn’t make the problem better or worse for Valve. It’s still a problem, and it’s one they have to deal with. Not twitter, not Facebook, and not anyone else.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago* (2 children)

    your continued insistence that the problematic behavior is sourced from elsewhere

    So you're suggesting that Steam is the source of the extremist behavior we see across a broad spectrum of other media?

    For someone literally arguing about argumentation, it sure is hard to see your point.

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  • [+] -6 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    No, you just don’t seem to be understanding what I’m saying, or the point of the article linked. The source is the users, of course. What I’m saying is that they didn’t come from twitter. They’ve always been on Steam, just as they’ve always been on twitter or facebook.

    And so, it logically follows that if you blame twitter for not dealing with users like that, then you must, by necessity, blame Valve for not dealing with them either.

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