The (in)human right to privacy and freedom of speech in gaming spaces

Hateful and extremist communication are prevalent in gaming spaces. Industry actors and policymakers, while generally aware of the problem, have been reluctant to counter such communication, in part out of concern for players’ rights to freedom of expression and privacy online. However, these attitudes reveal flawed assumptions about how the human rights to privacy and freedom of expression apply in the online context. These rights are invoked to shield purveyors of hostile and exclusionary rhetoric from accountability, even as their speech serves to prevent the targets of hostility from enjoying their rights to expression, privacy, and freedom from harm. This paper argues that the human rights of victims of harassment and extremist violence should be weighed more heavily when designing policies that may abridge players’ freedom of expression and privacy interests. Industry actors need to counter more effectively the prevalence of hateful and extremist expression, even if doing so requires adjusting players’ expectations of privacy and freedom of speech. Lawmakers and regulators also have a role to play in changing the perception of gaming spaces as black boxes free from external scrutiny. They can do so by exercising adequate oversight of the game industry and striving for a better balance between the demands for free speech and privacy rights online, on the one hand, and the need to protect the human rights of victims of harassment and violence, on the other.