Google removed a game app that allowed players to buy, sell, and torture virtual black “slaves” following a racist outcry in Brazil.
Named “Slavery Simulator,” the game in Portuguese allowed players to trade slaves and devise strategies to prevent the abolition of slavery in order to accumulate virtual wealth.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office stated that it has opened an investigation for “hate speech” related to the game downloaded by hundreds of people.
The app itself came with a warning condemning “all forms of slavery” and insisting that the game was “exclusively for entertainment purposes.”
After removing the app from its Play Store, Google stated in a statement that “apps that promote violence or hatred against groups of people or individuals because of skin color or ethnic origin” would not be allowed on its platform.
The company invited users to report offensive content.
The Brazilian Ministry of Racial Equality said it asked Google to implement measures “to filter content containing hate speech, intolerance, and racism” and “to prevent it from spreading so easily, without moderation.”
Racism remains a problem in Brazil, the last country in the Americas to abolish slavery in 1888. More than 56 percent of the population is Afro-Brazilian.
Source: AP