Navy Gold Star Program Invites Ten Year Olds to Compete in Esports on Twitch
- Author
- Jun 27, 2024
- 4 min read
June 27, 2024, Washington, D.C.—
The problem is— this violates Twitch Terms of Service:
“The Twitch Services are not available to persons under the age of 13. If you are between the ages of 13 and the age of legal majority in your jurisdiction of residence, you may only use the Twitch Services under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to be bound by these Terms of Service.”
Twitch, a subsidiary of Amazon, is a social media platform popular among gamers for its live-streaming capabilities.
Streamers such as @NavyWoundedWarrior are prohibited from hosting anyone under the age of 13. There are no exceptions. In fact, Twitch states that users report suspected cases. Violators of Twitch Terms of Service can be suspended or banned.
Amazon and Amazon Web Services are sponsors of the 2024 DoD Warrior Games held this past June in Orlando. Amazon Web Services is a DoD Contractor supplying cloud services to components including the U.S. Navy. Cloud service capabilities enable Navy Esports to flourish.
Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) in Washington, DC, (under the Department of the Navy), is the Navy’s headquarters for the Navy’s Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) programs. CNIC and MWR oversee the Navy Gold Star Program (NGSP), the Navy Wounded Warrior Program (NWW), and Fisher House (a Non-Profit partnering with CNIC to provide Servivce Members and families housing while obtaining medical or casualty care).
About a year ago the three programs seemingly joined forces. Their individual social media pages began posting about one another. Their events began including one another.
In March, the NWW hosted the NGSP in an online esports event live-streamed by @NavyWoundedWarrior on Twitch.tv. Its success led to two more live-stream esports events.
While NWW does not advertise any age on its registration page or in its marketing campaign, the NGSP registration page does welcome gamers as young as 10, as does its marketing, as seen above.
Twitch is not a DoD site. It also has thorough, transparent, stringent, well-established rules for safety, advertising, and users. Thirteen is not an arbitrary age.
Twitch must adhere to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). This act, regulated by the Federal Trade Commssion (FTC), is enforceable both in private businesses as well as the Federal sector. Per the FTC:
“COPPA imposes certain requirements on operators of websites or online services directed to children under 13 years of age, and on operators of other websites or online services that have actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information online from a child under 13 years of age.”
NGSP and NWW registration sites ask for a user’s Discord ID (online chat), Capcom ID (game access) and Twitch ID (live stream). Each of these three IDs require a user to be 13 years of age to obtain one. Neither the NWW nor the NGS registration sites ask for the specific age of the participant.
Nor do these site offer a privacy consent for parents or participants.
In providing PII and Gaming ID information of children under 13 to Twitch via @NavyWoundedWarrior, the NGSP (under CNIC, under DoN/DoD) may have broken Federal Trade Commission Laws such as COPPA.
The Navy’s MWR Esports Gaming Tournaments are open to those 18+. The guideline is clear. The popularity of Esports gave rise to the Navy’s own Esports team, Goats & Glory, comprised of Sailors from across the enterprise.
The practice of inviting any minors under 18 violates the Navy’s Esports Tournament Rules. Furthermore, it does not seemingly align with advice from within the DoD regarding the safety of children online.
MilitaryOneSource.mil an official DoD website offers advice to families regarding social media and online gaming sites:
“Discourage your kids from playing online games — through social media, gaming consoles or mobile devices — with people they have not met in person.”
The NWW and NGS upcoming and previous two Twitch tournaments are advertised on the NGS Facebook page and have been liked by employees of the Navy, to include Navy Gold Star civilian employees.
During the previous four months, these NWW and NGSP Esports tournaments have been prepared for by multiple employees across multiple DON departments, while inviting 10-year-olds.
Online safety, as illustrated by the DoD’s first-ever 2022 department wide social media policy, is a priority for the security of Service Members, their families, OPSEC, and our nation.
And if you’re thinking these are all Navy affiliated folks read the Justice Department’s Press Release from May 20, 2024. Naval Commander Sentenced for Distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material and Retaining Classified National Defense Information
At the bottom of Twitch’s Guide for Parents and Educators is a link to ConnectSafely, “a nonprofit dedicated to educating people about online safety, privacy, security, and digital wellness.” Their “Parent’s Guide to Twitch,” offers in-depth tips for streaming, etiquette, privacy, safety and precautions. The guide also shares insight on why teens enjoy Twitch.
The DoD, Twitch, the Tech industry are all aware of the challenges the internet and social platforms pose for children. Neither the DoD nor the Navy, is unaware of the dangers adversaries pose online.
On July 10, 2024, Military Times published, “Quieting Discord: A new frontier in military leaks and extremism.” Reporter Nikki Wentling chronicles the creeping extremism taking a stronghold on Discord and damaging national security despite Discord’s mundane use by many.
Aware of the dangers, the NGSP invites children as young as 10 to participate in online gaming, chatting, and streaming with adults they do not know and cannot see.
The Department of Justice National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction offers a working group report, “Sextortion, Crowdsourcing, Enticement, and Coercion.” It states:
“Sextortion offenders usually threaten minors between the ages of 10 and 17 years, the typical age range for juvenile internet users.”
The same report also shares this info-box —
UPDATE: The NGSP posted another invitation of 10-year-olds to their Twitch Esports Tournament on July 1, after becoming aware of the potentially illegal oversight. Some Navy Employees “likes” of the event on Facebook have disappeared. NavyGoldStar.com/Esports is still live and inviting children as young as 10 who have a lost a parent in service to our country to register by Friday, August 2, 2024.
*Disclaimer* As in every post, I have done my best to deliver journalistic integrity, facts obtained from due diligence, and a sincere commitment to finding the truth. The DoD does not communicate with me or respond to my queries, despite my best efforts.
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