Social media companies are not alone in censoring content online. Xbox said it has cracked down on content millions more times in 2022 than last year.
The gaming brand said its new approach to cracking down on content yielded 4.78 million proactive enforcement actions in 2022’s first six months compared with fewer than 1 million such actions in all of last year.
“Our content moderation agents are on-staff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to make sure the content and conduct found on our platform adheres to our Community Standards,” Xbox said in its first-ever transparency report published this week.
Xbox, owned by Microsoft, said most of its proactive censorship actions were directed against inauthentic accounts, representing 4.33 million of the 4.78 million enforcement decisions the brand took against gamers. Enforcement actions typically involve a temporary suspension preventing someone from playing a game, according to the report.
The inauthentic accounts sought to manipulate players with spam, attempts to cheat at games, inflate friend and follower numbers, and by doing other things that would create an uneven playing field for gamers.
The rest of the enforcement actions involved restrictions on adult sexual content, fraud, bullying, profanity, phishing, hate speech and real-world harm.
The proactive censorship in 2022’s first six months increased “9x from the same period last year” and let the gaming platform remove more content and stop conduct before players became aware, the company said.
“We believe everyone should have the opportunity to experience the joy of gaming, free from fear and intimidation, and within the boundaries you set,” wrote Dave McCarthy, Xbox corporate vice president, on the brand’s website.
Alongside the proactive content crackdown Xbox revealed, it responded to gamers reporting problems. Xbox said its reactive work resulted in 2.53 million enforcements during 2022’s first six months, down from 3.49 million over the same period last year but up slightly from 2021’s last six months.
“We acknowledge that negative activity can and has taken place,” Xbox’s transparency report said. “This conduct is not okay and goes against the community we strive to create — a place that is vibrant, safe, and welcoming.”
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