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US Senator urges Valve to moderate hateful content on Steam

The open letter cites reports of antisemitic, racist, and sexist content on Valve's gaming platform.

Donovan Erskine

November 18, 2024 7:25 AM

Valve

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Virginia Senator Mark R. Warner penned an open letter to Valve CEO Gabe Newell on Friday, urging him and other leadership to better moderate hateful content on Steam. In the letter, he calls Steam an “unsafe place for teens and young adults to purchase and play online games.”

Warner published the letter he sent to Gabe Newell on his website. In it, he cites a recent investigative report from the Anti-Defamation League that discovered 1.8 million unique examples of extremist or hateful content on Steam. This includes racist, antisemitic, and sexist posts made using Steam’s social features. Warner goes on to list lines from Steam’s online conduct policy, urging the company to enforce them and bring their moderation in line with industry standards.

Warner closes his letter by suggesting increased government scrutiny on Steam if Valve does not comply with the moderation demands. Gabe Newell and Valve have yet to respond to the letter.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_