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posted by janrinok on Saturday October 12 2019, @08:28AM   Printer-friendly
from the not-a-lone-voice dept.

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1337

Unlike Blizzard, Epic Games says it won't ban players for political speech

Fortnite developer Epic Games said in a statement that it will not ban players or content creators for political speech. The message comes after Blizzard caught fire this week for banning a professional Hearthstone player for shouting a statement associated with Hong Kong protesters.

"Epic supports everyone's right to express their views on politics and human rights. We wouldn't ban or punish a Fortnite player or content creator for speaking on these topics," an Epic Games spokesperson told The Verge.

Over the weekend, Blizzard banned Hearthstone player Ng "Blitzchung" Wai Chung from participating in tournaments after he voiced support for the protesters in Hong Kong. In a post-game interview on Sunday, Blitzchung said, "Liberate Hong Kong. Revolution of our age!" Now, he cannot participate in any tournaments for an entire year (effective October 5th), and Blizzard is withholding any prize money he would have received in the Grandmasters tournament over the weekend. Those forfeited winnings have been reported to total around $10,000.

[...] Following Blizzard's decision, the company's own forums and subreddits dedicated to its games ballooned with messages from angry fans condemning the ban. The r/Blizzard subreddit went down for a few hours on Tuesday after the board was overrun with memes and posts calling for players to boycott Blizzard and its games like World of Warcraft,Overwatch, and Hearthstone.

Senators on both sides of the aisle have also taken notice, tweeting out statements criticizing Blizzard's move. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said, "Blizzard shows it is willing to humiliate itself to please the Chinese Communist Party." He continued, "No American company should censor calls for freedom to make a quick buck."


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  • (Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @10:08AM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @10:08AM (#906289)

    Still not sure why foreign companies are allowed to do this.

    We have a huge chunk of our milk production owned by some French company, the prices are just nuts and people wonder WTF is happening. People from outside the country are buying up land all over the place. This won't be our country soon.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @10:28AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @10:28AM (#906295)

    It's because foreign companies are creating AI-based solutions which can effortlessly extract profit from policy bricks. Without the land, this would be negotiable.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @10:32AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @10:32AM (#906296)

    That's the trick. Find a loophole, or just a hole, and penetrate it repeatedly.

    When it comes to countries like China or Saudi Arabia, they need to spread the money around while the good times are still rolling. That leads to diversification... and control.

  • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Saturday October 12 2019, @12:27PM (1 child)

    by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Saturday October 12 2019, @12:27PM (#906309) Homepage
    > Still not sure why foreign companies are allowed to do this.

    It's the very definition of capitalism. Restrict that, and you're restricting a company's ability to get capital investment - you're standing in the way of its progress and growth.
    --
    Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
    • (Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @04:01PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @04:01PM (#906361)

      Are we witnessing self-realization unfolding?

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @02:03PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @02:03PM (#906322)

    Still not sure why foreign companies are allowed to do this.

    If you want to restrict capital flows, Cuba is that way. But seriously, protectionism is akin of communism.

    We have a huge chunk of our milk production owned by some French company

    And who is the "we"?

    People from outside the country are buying up land all over the place. This won't be our country soon.

    Again, you didn't even mention who this "our country" even is. But I agree, Americans are buying too much land in New Zealand.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @09:34PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 12 2019, @09:34PM (#906431)

    Maybe you should consider moving out of France?