Gaming companies are sharing gamers’ user information with the government to root out so-called domestic violent extremists.

Gaming companies are coordinating with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security to root out so-called domestic violent extremist content, according to a new government report. Noting that mechanisms have been established with social media companies to police extremism, the report recommends that the national security agencies establish new and similar processes with the vast gaming industry.

The exact nature of the cooperation between federal agencies and video game companies, which has not been previously reported, is detailed in a new Government Accountability Office report. The report draws on interviews conducted with five gaming and social media companies including Roblox, an online gaming platform; Discord, a social media app commonly used by gamers; Reddit; as well as a game publisher and social media company that asked the GAO to remain anonymous.

The Anti-Defamation League has testified to Congress multiple times about extremists’ use of gaming platforms. In 2019, ADL’s then-senior vice president of international affairs, Sharon Nazarian, was asked by Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., if gaming platforms “are monitored” and if there’s “a way AI can be employed to identify those sorts of conversations.”

  • TimLovesTech (AuDHD)(he/him)@badatbeing.socialEnglish
    7·
    9 months ago

    So this isn’t about actual gamers, this about bad actors looking for chuds to recruit through games, which is not a new concept. It used to be chat rooms, and then forums, then social media, now games (as many have social features).

    I mean the US military, among others, have been using gaming to recruit people already.

    • Rezbit@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      9 months ago

      Officially, the military does not recruit anyone under age 17. In this case, “recruit” means the formal process of signing a legally binding agreement to enlist. The military does, however, advertise to and interact directly with minors for the purposes of military recruitment.

      Grooming. Non-sexual grooming. Just wonderful.

      • Altima NEO@lemmy.zipEnglish
        2·
        9 months ago

        I mean they show up to schools to tell kids about military careers and jrotc and stuff.

      • masquenox@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        9 months ago

        The recruitment starts the minute they pressure kids into worshipping a piece of colored fabric.

      • Aussiemandeus@aussie.zoneEnglish
        1·
        9 months ago

        I was in the Australian airforce cadets from 12 until 18 at which point i went to join the airforce but got am apprenticeship at the same time that paid more.

        Many of my friends enlisted though.

        Its certainly grooming, though

      • Drusas@kbin.social
        1·
        9 months ago

        Are they pretending the JROTC doesn’t exist? The US military absolutely targets minors under the age of seventeen for recruitment.

        • Cethin@lemmy.zipEnglish
          1·
          9 months ago

          I think that’s the point, not ignoring it. They don’t have them literally sign up, but they do everything they legally can to capture them.

    • LaunchesKayaks@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      9 months ago

      Someone tried recruiting my sister and a couple of her Special Olympics teammates into the Marines in Rec Room. I got on my sister’s mic and told the dude to fuck off and to stop preying on obviously vulnerable people. He was so pushy with his recruitment, that he was making my sister uncomfortable. She asked him to stop and he didn’t. After telling the dude off, I advised my sister and her teammates to try a different game for a bit. It was disgusting to see this dude try to get people with intellectual disabilities to literally throw their lives away for a country that’s constantly fucking them over.

  • Fizz@lemmy.nzEnglish
    2·
    9 months ago

    This is exactly the problem. The fbi shouldn’t be able to snoop on you based off suspicion. I can encrypt every thing and be as edgy as I want and they still shouldn’t pull my discord message history because they have no reason to suspect I’ve committed a crime or am going to commit a crime.

  • deegeese@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    1·
    9 months ago

    If terrorists chat on Facebook, of course they’re on Roblox and every other site too.

    Would be foolish not to monitor because it’s “only a game”.

  • Fizz@lemmy.nzEnglish
    01·
    9 months ago

    Its times like this I wish I used matrix instead of discord. Even though my friends and I are not extremists you can definitely make us look like extremists if you took jokes out of context.

      • Fizz@lemmy.nzEnglish
        12·
        9 months ago

        There are plenty of jokes that look bad if you strip away the intention and context. They aren’t bad or offensive jokes they just seem offensive if you take them out of context and present them in a different way.

        For example this shane gills joke looks bad “That’s the thing about these countries, England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia. No Black people.” but when you add the next part it makes it funny.

        “And I know what you’re thinking. No, you need Black people to keep the whites in check. The last thing you want is a whole island of whites that think they’re the coolest people on earth. A disaster. That’s how you end up with Conor McGregors walking around.The foreign whites are out of control.”

          • Fizz@lemmy.nzEnglish
            01·
            9 months ago

            The clip of him saying it funnier but its not everyones cup of tea

          • Fizz@lemmy.nzEnglish
            11·
            9 months ago

            How would you know you have never heard a joke from me.

            • mister_monster@monero.townEnglish
              2·
              9 months ago

              Humorless people telling you to joke within the confines of their neurotic sensibilities. Best ignore them and carry on.

        • Carighan Maconar@lemmy.worldEnglish
          12·
          9 months ago

          There are plenty of jokes that look bad if you strip away the intention and context. They aren’t bad or offensive jokes they just seem offensive if you take them out of context and present them in a different way.

          Yes, and as humans we are quite able to understand that we should not immediately suspect anybody who says something without any context, assuming in the situation we know we are lacking the content.

          Tell me, what makes you look more suspect to a federal agency:

          • The odd (frankly pretty bad, but then it’s by Shane Gills so that was expected) joke that lacking context could in theory be interpreted as a racial diss?
          • Encrypting and hiding all your chat traffic?