Why Gamer’s Voice is supporting ‘Stop Killing the Internet’

I wanted to write an update on a new project that Gamer’s Voice has been working on called Stop Killing the Internet. The observant among you will note that Stop Killing the Internet has a similar name to Stop Killing Games. So perhaps it’s not much of a surprise to learn that it will be a sister campaign to Stop Killing Games, but it is much more than that.

Involved in the formation of Stop Killing the Internet are a number of individuals and organisations that span gaming communities, digital rights organisations, human rights organisations, academics, some tech companies and safety campaigners. What unites this group is a sense that current policies intended to reduce online harms are having too much of an adverse impact on people’s human rights. The rights most affected are freedom of expression and privacy, but they are also at a basic level Killing the Internet. Somewhat like the Norman Conquest, these measures are taken the open nature of the interenet and it’s open commons and turning them into gated spaces, accessible only once you have passed through a digital ID checkpoint.

For many of us lucky enough to live in democracies, policies that restrict the internet are annoying, harm our privacy and restrict our free expression. But for people living in countries with poor human rights records and heavily restricted internet access, this is a fundamental battle for their freedoms. When democracies restrict social media or games, they embolden Iran, China, Russia and others to further curtail freedoms.

But let’s take a step back from such global concerns about freedom to focus back on why restrictions to the net concerns an organisation like Gamer’s Voice

So let’s Imagine this, you are a teenager who enjoys playing video games. It might be how you meet new people: by playing a game with someone, then joining a team, clan or organisation within that game. There are many games that operate socially like this. You meet people in the game, play with them and then start socializing with them. To me I don’t so much have to imagine as remember as to when I was a teenager. Like many young people gaming was an escape from experiences such as bullying in the British education system.

Now imagine something else, you get a new game and want to learn more about it. Once upon a time games came in boxes with manuals. These days It is fairly common for YouTube tutorials to be a standard way of learning how to play a game. I have even seen games that link directly to YouTube videos from within the game interface. For more complicated games, such as Paradox titles, MMOs or things like Star Citizen it is pretty much essential to watch YouTube videos, join a Discord server, or use online forums such as Reddit or Steam Community pages.

As with any human interaction, there is a risk that someone you meet in one of these spaces might not be a good person. I think most people are good, but lets not be naive. There are of course wrong uns. However this is true if you join a sports club, a church, or take part in any other hobby or activity. So although most people who play games online will have had some kind of unpleasant experience with another person, thats true about trips to the park, shops or any human activity. Our approach to safety in other spaces, are put in place measures that both protect people but also facilitate the activity. Most gamers are used to this as well with features such as chat restrictions or monitoring, reporting functionality, and moderation tools. Many games have built-in systems to reward good behavior and report or punish bad behaviour.

But overall, gaming is incredibly safe. You are not going to get run over, drown, get beaten up, fall over or break a bone. Most interactions are positive and social, and it is how a lot of people live their lives. The biggest risk is probably sitting for too long and getting a bad back.

So when the UK Government decides that, despite gaming being incredibly safe, it needs to restrict functions such as being able to talk to someone on your own team, and re-brands normal team interactions as “stranger chat”, it has lost its mind. We do not ban people from speaking in the real world just because someone might be a criminal or try to cause harm.

As a dad of two sons, of course I am mindful that predators exist. So, like any parent, I teach them to report problems, use judgement as to who they interact with, and tell me if they have any concerns. In offline situations, we put trusted adults in roles where they can help keep an eye on communities and help police them. Well-run online game servers do the same, with admins helping to police games.

The Government also seeks to restrict live-streaming. Again, the vast majority of live-streaming people do is streaming a game they are playing to their friends or social group remotely. Live-streaming is one way professional players help generate their income. It is a normal social activity that millions of people enjoy, and only a small percentage ever experience problems.

The UK Government’s proposals hurt and restrict gaming as a pastime and activity in a way that no other safety measure hurts other activities. They were created by people who simply don’t play games or understand them. It is now the case that Millions of gamers will be forced to hand over their personal ID documents simply to access games. Nothing like this happens in other, far riskier activities that take place offline. To put it simply, the UK Government is killing the internet and hurting the interests of gamers.

The cost of age-gating technology is also a disaster for smaller studios and game producers. Do not just take our word for it. You can read here what Alderon Games said about it:

“We estimate a cost of at least several months and up to $500,000 USD in development costs to make sure age verification is implemented properly, excluding legal costs. That is a survivable line item for a platform with billions in revenue. For an independent studio, it can be the difference between shipping the next update and laying off staff. Once that’s built, we still have to pick an age verification provider. The few providers we’ve talked to charge anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000 USD per month, depending on the level of support and whether you actually want to be compliant with all the laws.”

At a time when gaming is already becoming expensive due to AI-driven demand for RAM chips, these ill-thought-out measures will drive up the cost of gaming. If this actually helped protect children, then maybe that cost would be justified. But instead, it hurts their ability to participate in a fun social activity, hurts their ability to learn and find out about games, and puts them at greater risk if they become victims of identity theft.

It is for this reason, and more, that Gamer’s Voice is supporting Stop Killing the Internet and will work with organisations around the world to fight for policies that tackle problems online in a manner that respects our freedom of expression rights. We will be running ‘Stop Killing the Internet’ alongside our other campaign issues that impact gamers.