Should a company like Steam be responsible for what they sell?
Polls
15th June 2018
THIS week, Valve Corporation, who runs an online store called Steam, where you can buy PC games, changed their policies to say that “any and all content is allowed to be added to Steam – as long as it’s not illegal”.
In case you’ve never heard of Steam before, it’s a bit like the Android or iOS App Store, except for PC games and apps.
Last week, Steam was in the news after someone uploaded a game in which you played as a school shooter. The insensitive and offensive game was on the store for a little while before Valve removed it.
Once the game was removed, people began to question Valve’s policy when it came to offensive games – and they responded differently to most other big tech companies.
“We’ve decided that the right approach is to allow everything onto the Steam store,” one of Valve’s senior employees said. Instead of looking after it themselves, they said they’ll be making tools that mean that the things that you don’t like will be hard for you to find on the Steam store.
Similar to Amazon, they will no longer take any responsibility for what is sold on their
virtual shelves. Valve did clarify that “the games we allow onto the store will not be a reflection of Valve’s values”.
Some people reacted by saying that Valve was making the right call and that customers should be allowed to buy what they want. Others said that a store should be responsible for what they sell and that they were encouraging hateful content to be sold there by “allowing anything”.
What do you think? Take part in our poll!
42 Comments
my_life · 7 years ago
Yes, companies definitely should be responsible of what they sell. If they sell an illegal thing by an accident or something which is really dangerous, it will cause a big trouble and the company might get closed just because of this. It is really important of being responsible of what they sell.
shreddeddo · 7 years ago
no that is bad
skyangel · 7 years ago
They should be responsible or they just put an age restriction.
First News is the best :)
uni_savage · 7 years ago
I strongly believe that a company like Steam should be responsible of what they sell because if something bad or offensive is showing on it, the company would be judged in a certain way of what is THEIR responsibility. If they want to be successful, than they need to make sure they make an effort to keep their viewers happy.
natalija · 7 years ago
A company should be responsible for what they sell as their games might make people feel aggressive after playing. Also, i do not think many people would like to buy violent games, so why sell them?
plane · 7 years ago
Yes because they could blame it o other companies
xcurlysuex · 7 years ago
I think that they should because it isn't good to allow anything on your store incase it is very inappropriate for children. Like, teachers take responsibility for what they teach you, they can't just teach you about random things that have nothing to do with school at all!
v_venkie · 7 years ago
i don't think so
boss13 · 7 years ago
a company should always take responsibility for what they sell because they should be aware of the consequences that comes with putting a product on the market.
lolegiapal · 7 years ago
first comments
irock122 · 7 years ago
I think only the company who made the item should sell it, as it could be sold again by other people.
irock122 · 7 years ago
Stores are responsible for what they sell;they bought or made that product to sell.
fridayfun9 · 7 years ago
Yes because you could go on there for example search up something innocent and find inappropriate content that offensive.You should have to put in your date of birth so everything is right for your age.
woolyfish · 7 years ago
It should be responsible because it’s their own company.
nergit · 7 years ago
Yes they should! You could be really influenced by the game that you get! You could end up being an addict. It is wrong to sell hateful content! ? Everyone knows that games like Minecraft and Roblox are cool, but you could end up becoming a horrible addict! You would miss out on everything fun like going to you friends party, cooking and chilling out in the sun.
awalsham · 7 years ago
Yes they definitely should be responsible, especially as some of these games may be aimed at or played by children. It is morally indefensible for them to try to absolve themselves of all responsibility.
doctor2010 · 7 years ago
Yes , as it belongs to them
doctor2010 · 7 years ago
#First to comment
donkey4 · 7 years ago
No as it is up to people if they want to get something or not
cmi_hall1 · 7 years ago
I think the company decision was right because people need to learn to make the right choices in life else when younger people want to get a job the won't know what to do it say.
epipsrock · 7 years ago
I agree
pigpig41 · 7 years ago
Company's should think about what they sell but I think steam is a very good company so they don't need to worry about anything .however ,Amazon and online company's should be more responsible for what they sell .This is a very truthful pol
bobfm · 7 years ago
yes, companies should be responsible as if they sell something to kids maybe they need to think!
xdcoconut · 7 years ago
definetly dude
ninjanoah · 7 years ago
Ok found out what steam was I think that no they shouldn't be blamed .
xdcoconut · 7 years ago
THEY SHOULD I AM NOT TELLING YOU WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW NOW COM MENTORS!
bookcrazy1 · 7 years ago
Yes, because it's their own fault that that awful school shooting game was allowed onto their site. And what if someone figured out how to find the "hard to find" offensive games? It sounds to me like they need better game moderation.
bookcrazy1 · 7 years ago
BTW @fridayfun9 I think Steam should use the date of birth thing to restrict offensive content. Good idea!
mollyboo8 · 7 years ago
THEY SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING THEY HAVE! ( so should amazon)
lovejesus · 7 years ago
Yes because if you sell something, let us say milk if it's out of date you're responsible for that!
sprinkle10 · 6 years ago
companies should be responsible for what they sell because they produce it and the shops are all like: i'll sell this for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
teddylover · 6 years ago
skyangel is correct all the time
drsethlord · 6 years ago
No because they didn't make the games and put it on website. Also people should be responsible for what they buy because there is a description and photos (not forgetting the rating). Parents should be wary there kids are playing.
agentlord · 6 years ago
YES!!!!!!!
Who else makes the products
gamer07 · 6 years ago
No. The buyer needs to be responsible.
ti-10 · 6 years ago
Yes, if they sell something that's not for -the- person- that- they- are- selling- the- game- to- age (18+ or 12+)then that is highly inappropriate!
hc-524219 · 6 years ago
Yes because if they sell something illegal, then it would be their fault or they might just put an age restriction to the items that they are selling. For that reason, those kind of companies have a possibility of not having to close down.?
Pipseycat · 6 years ago
the games should go through a quality control kinda thing so that you can't get any games that are £25 but only have a pictures found on google
llamatoast · 6 years ago
Yes they should,it’s their stuff they should be responsible.
celtic10 · 6 years ago
Yes as they made them
awsomeboy · 6 years ago
Hui (yes in french)
trudie · 5 years ago
Yes all companies should be responsible for what they sell even if it was a mistake. I agree with you my_life because if they do sell an illegal item or product it might lead to dangerous causes and the company might get shut down just because of it. Many people could lose there jobs and not earn any more money for the family and can't pay the house bills and be out on the streets begging for food money and drinks.