A video game in which the user puts himself in the shoes of a slave master. This incredible application, available to users of the Play Store since April 20, has caused a real outcry in Brazil.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation for “hate speech” against this application in Portuguese which had been ed by more than a thousand people in the middle of the week. Players were encouraged to “use slaves to enrich themselves” or “seek to avoid the abolition of slavery to accumulate money”.
Google reacts
The app’s user guidelines explained that the game was “designed for entertainment purposes only” and that its creators “condemn any type of slavery”. After removing the game from its Play Store platform, Google ured in a press release that “applications that promote violence or hatred against groups of people or individuals because of their skin color or their ethnic origin” were there. prohibited. The company has also invited Internet users to denounce any illegal content.
The Ministry of Racial Equality said in a press release that it had requested from Google “effective measures to filter content containing speech of hatred, intolerance and racism”, and “to prevent it from being disseminated so easily, without moderation “.
Racism is still very present in Brazil, the last American country to have abolished slavery in 1888, and where more than 56% of the population is made up of Afro-descendants. “Brazil is one of the countries with the most consumers on Google’s platforms, and there is this application that remembers the time of slavery, with bonuses for those who torture the most”, lambasted Renata Souza , left-wing regional deputy for Rio de Janeiro.
“Lack of regulation of social networks”
“It is not only racism, but also fascism. Here in Brazil, we have a neofascist movement that is not afraid to show itself (…) due to the lack of regulation of social networks, ”adds this black parliamentarian.
Google was already at the heart of a controversy at the beginning of the month, openly criticizing – with links appearing under its search engine – a bill aimed at regulating content on the Internet. The American giant ended up withdrawing these links, but a Supreme Court judge ordered the opening of an investigation for “abusive campaign” against this bill which should be voted on soon in Congress.
THE racist slurs uttered Sunday in Spain against Brazilian international Vinicius Jr in the jersey of Real Madrid sparked a wave of indignation throughout Brazil.