From banning users for neo-Nazi images and messages to banning a game for its depiction of marijuana, censorship has been part of the gaming whether we like it or not or approve of some actions over others.
It could be argued that censorship has become much more prolific in this sensitive age, far more than the scrutiny that is and was given to movies and TV, especially when rhetoric is being widespread about video games being the cause of violence.
Gaming in Australia has been one of those double standards where scenes of marijuana or sexual assault would be overlooked in a movie but will get your game banned by the Australian Classification Board if it appears in your game.
But where does expression end and cross into the line requiring censorship? Is it less about moral standards and more about what is culturally accepted? Even back in 2016, there was talk about lowering the R rated age requirements for Movies
So is there a place in our world for censorship when free speech is so foundational to our society? As opposed to places like China that are going as far as making a stand-alone Steam client that will act outside of the regular client with its own set of games, currently sitting at only 50 games listed for launch
Some debate suggests that it is to protect our youth from extremist and content not deemed for children, with many neo-Nazi accounts being banned from Roblox after a parent brought it to their attention recently. But should this be in the hands of the viewer and community to condone and shame versus censoring it? Instead then hiding the issues it could be used as a chance to teach and share why those things are wrong in our culture as opposed to just keeping out of sight.
Hopefully, censorship goes in the direction that Australia has been in losing the reigns on some topics, but only time will tell, what are your thoughts on all this?