Malaysia can also adopt strategies from other nations, such as active monitoring, counter-radicalisation initiatives, and regional collaboration.— 123rf
MALAYSIAN authorities and game developers must work together to prevent digital platforms from becoming breeding grounds for radicalisation, says Kaigan Games chief executive officer Shahrizar Roslan.
He believes that a well-balanced approach involving policy, education, and collaboration is essential in tackling this issue without alienating players or developers – policymakers must work closely with industry stakeholders to craft regulations that effectively track and eliminate extremist communication without infringing on the gaming experience.
He explains that while public chat channels in games are often monitored, private in-game communication remains a challenge.
“One of the reasons extremist ideologies can spread in games is that private communication between two players is rarely tracked. However, if monitoring becomes too strict, it risks driving away legitimate players, which could hurt the industry.”
Shahrizar also stresses the importance of educating the gaming community through public campaigns that teach players how to identify extremist content and report suspicious activity.
“The government and relevant agencies must take the lead in educating players, but they need to be cautious. Overexposure to the issue might backfire, leading to the Streisand Effect, where more people become curious and inadvertently explore extremist narratives.”
He says careful messaging is crucial to ensure awareness campaigns do not unintentionally fuel interest in the very ideologies they seek to combat, while the collaboration among government bodies, game developers, and platform providers must be approached carefully.
This is due to the growing mistrust in government surveillance, especially among younger generations.
“The global sentiment towards government monitoring is at an all-time low. If authorities openly declare that they are tracking players, it could create backlash. Gamers are already concerned about their data being misused, so transparency and accountability are key,” Shahrizar says.
Despite these challenges, Shahrizar says cooperation is necessary as governments and gaming companies must find a way to share information and identify extremist activity without overstepping boundaries.
He says Malaysia can also adopt strategies from other nations, such as active monitoring, counter-radicalisation initiatives, and regional collaboration.
Shahrizar also advocates for the formation of a game surveillance task force to track trends in extremist activity within gaming spaces, much like the FBI’s approach in the United States. Additionally, he suggests that Asean countries unite to pressure global gaming companies to swiftly remove extremist content.
“A regional task force would have more influence than Malaysia acting alone. If Asean pushes for extremist content to be removed within 24 hours, it would carry more weight.”
Beyond monitoring and regulation, Malaysia can also support game developers who create narratives promoting peace and tolerance – incentivising such projects could be a powerful countermeasure against extremist propaganda in games.
Shahrizar says while there is no single solution to curbing extremism in online games, a multifaceted approach incorporating policy, education, and collaboration can help strike the right balance to ensure that the gaming industry remains a safe space while players’ trust and freedom are not compromised.
“The key is balance. We must be proactive in preventing extremist ideologies from spreading in games, but we must also be careful not to alienate the very communities we seek to protect,” Shahrizar says.
