PlayStation Criticized for Response to Extremism in Online Games

U.S. politicians have blasted Sony Interactive Entertainment for its response to rising extremism in PlayStation multiplayer games. Sony is among a number of major video game companies under intense scrutiny for not doing enough to combat “hate, harassment, and extremism” in their online communities.

How Sony responded to lawmakers’ concerns about PlayStation multiplayer games

The letter in question was sent out to all major gaming companies by seven lawmakers back in December 2022, an effort spearheaded by congresswoman Lori Trahan. In an update published last week, Trahan said that responses from nearly all of the companies were inadequate and failed to address their policies surrounding extremism in online games, and transparency in reporting these issues.

With sensitive business information redacted, a summary of responses from all the companies (which includes Microsoft, Epic Games, Valve, and many more) can be found on Trahan’s official webpage.

Sony has said that it makes an effort to educate parents of its consoles’ safety features and shares a commitment to “Safer Gaming” initiative with Microsoft and Nintendo. The company highlighted its reporting mechanisms and said that all reports of harassment are viewed by human moderators. Sony also said that it uses communication technology to filter out hate speech and profanity.

While politicians say the companies aren’t doing enough, the Entertainment Software Association has warned against sounding false alarms involving video games.