In the report, GAO suggests that agencies should take further action to collaborate with certain platforms to address the proliferation of extremist ideologies on their platforms. However, as we learned from the Twitter Files, this move could result in serious violations of constitutional rights.

According to the report, violent extremists are using online gaming platforms to recruit and influence gamers.

Domestic violent extremists use social media and gaming platforms for several purposes, including to reach wide audiences; to insert their extremist ideas into the mainstream; and to radicalize, recruit, and mobilize others, according to government reports and experts GAO spoke with (see figure). Experts noted that violent extremists generally use a variety of platforms for different purposes, depending on available features, audiences, and content moderation practices.

According to the report, the FBI and DHS have communicated with Roblox, a popular gaming platform, along with social media platforms such as Reddit and Discord. GAO’s report aims to push these agencies to adopt existing social media policing strategies and apply them to the gaming industry. However, there are valid concerns about privacy and the violations of other rights.

Hasan Piker, a popular Twitch streamer and political commentator, told The Intercept: “All I can think of is the awful track record of the FBI when it comes to identifying extremism” and that the Bureau is “much better at finding vulnerable teenagers with mental disabilities to take advantage of.”

This initiative is rooted in a broader concern about the role online platforms play in radicalization, particularly underscored by the Jan. 6 riot at the United States Capitol building.

The federal government’s interest in combating extremism has risen sharply following the January 6 storming of the Capitol. On his first full day in office, President Joe Biden directed his national security team to conduct a comprehensive review of federal efforts to fight domestic terrorism, which the White House has deemed “the most urgent terrorism threat facing the United States” — greater than foreign terrorist groups like the Islamic State group. Biden’s directive resulted in the first ever national strategy for fighting domestic terrorism, released by the White House in June 2021. The strategy mentions “online gaming platforms” as a place where “recruiting and mobilizing individuals to domestic terrorism occurs.”

However, while the threat of domestic extremism is concerning, the potential abuses could be just as bad — or worse.

For starters, this type of action could empower these agencies to crack down on speech that is protected by the First Amendment. Monitoring and policing online gaming platforms could chill freedom of expression, prompting gamers to self-censor out of fear of being targeted by the government. Moreover, it could result in the FBI and DHS pressuring these companies to suppress certain voices on their platforms as they did with Twitter, Facebook, and other social media companies.

The systematic surveillance of people using online gaming platforms could also violate the Fourth Amendment if it is done without warrants or the consent of those being surveilled. It would raise concerns about violating people’s expectations of privacy while they are playing "Call of Duty" and other games.

The 14th Amendment could also be infringed upon. If the state targets certain groups based on race, ethnicity, religion, or political beliefs, it might represent another weaponization of the government. We have already seen much of this occur under the Biden administration, which has targeted conservatives and libertarians expressing dissenting viewpoints.

If the FBI and DHS follow GAO’s recommendations, it is highly likely that these agencies will abuse their positions to unjustly target those who enjoy gaming, just as they went after people using social media platforms.