whatyareckon

By Douglas Blair ~

Careful what you say online: Microsoft is listening in.

The tech giant recently implemented some changes to its massively popular game Minecraft. The game currently holds the record for being the bestselling video game of all time, and hundreds of thousands of players are playing at any given moment.

A popular video game might be the canary in the coal mine for Microsoft’s online censorship. Pictured: Logo for the video game Minecraft. (Photo: Microsoft)

In June, Microsoft announced that some new reporting features were coming to the game. Players could snitch on each other, and if a player was found to be in violation of nebulous Community Standards for things like hate speech or threats of violence, that player would be banned from playing online.

“Banned players are not allowed to play on servers, join Realms, host or join multiplayer games, or use the marketplace…