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Virginia Senator Mark Warner has accused Valve of allowing hate groups to congregate on Steam.

Since its launch in 2003, Steam has grown to become one of the largest digital stores for PC games. But bringing so many gamers together has also had some unintended real-world consequences. Now, Virginia Senator Mark Warner is accusing Steam's parent company, Valve, of allowing hate speech, white supremacist content, and even comments praising terrorists to go unhindered by the company.

Warner shared his letter with Bloomberg and expressed his concerns to Valve co-founder Game Newell. Warner cited a recent report from the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism, which wrote that Steam has become “an unsafe place for teens and young adults to buy and play online games,” adding that if Valve fails to address these issues, it will allow “harmful ideologies to spread and take root in the next generation. to spread and take root in the next generation”.

Warner referred to reports showing that there are 1.83 million pieces of extremist or hateful content on Steam. Some of this content includes Nazi imagery, tributes to individual terrorists, and support for terrorist organizations such as ISIS. Earlier this year, a Turkish teenager plotted a knife attack with someone he met on Steam and then carried out the plan in August while wearing a neo-Nazi symbol.

In the letter, Warner promises “greater federal scrutiny” while accusing Steam of “condoning hate groups to congregate and engage in activities that undoubtedly put Americans at risk”. The senators also asked for information about Valve's vetting policies and its commitment to combating hateful content.

Earlier this year, Steam changed the way it lists games online, ahead of a new California law. Under the law, which doesn't go into effect until 2025, Steam now makes it clear that when players buy a game they are buying a license, not actually owning the game itself.

Warner referred to a report showing that there are 1.83 million pieces of extremist or hateful content on Steam. Some of this content includes Nazi imagery, tributes to individual terrorists, and support for terrorist organizations such as ISIS. Earlier this year, a Turkish teenager plotted a knife attack with someone he met on Steam and then carried out the plan in August while wearing a neo-Nazi symbol.

In the letter, Warner promises “greater federal scrutiny” while accusing Steam of “condoning hate groups to congregate and engage in activities that undoubtedly put Americans at risk”. The senators also asked for information about Valve's vetting policies and its commitment to combating hateful content.

Earlier this year, Steam changed the way it lists games online, ahead of a new California law. Under the law, which doesn't go into effect until 2025, Steam now makes it clear that when players buy a game they are buying a license, not actually owning the game itself.