White House Arcade game removed after backlash. When will other companies speak out?

Last week, the White House released a series of arcade games on its website featuring messages that promote Donald Trump's agenda. The site originally had five games, but as of Sept. 8, it seems like one of those games has been quietly removed. The reasoning behind the removal is unclear. Three of the games are relatively harmless. 'Flappy Bill' is a ripoff of the viral game 'Flappy Bird,' where players fly a bald eagle down the National Mall. 'Trump Savings Tycoon' lets you 'Fill your kids' Trump Accounts.' Meanwhile, 'Supply Line' presents the beliefs of the 'Make America Healthy Again' campaign — which itself has some views that regard rejecting vaccines — through a ripoff of the 1983 game 'Tapper,' where players have to separate 'healthy' items from 'unhealthy' items. However, those 'unhealthy' items may or may not include vaccines, as it's difficult to determine with the pixelated graphics. The other two games have generated notable controversy. 'Rio Run' has players essentially play as a border patrol agent, collecting immigrants to form a line behind them, in a ripoff of the mobile game 'Snake.' And 'Build the Wall' is a 'Tetris'-style game where you do just that — build a wall — to 'Protect the border from the coming horde,' with the incoming horde being pixelated immigrants. The irony is that the original point of 'Tetris' is to actually prevent a wall from being built. However, 'Build the Wall' is no longer available to play. PGN reached out to the White House asking why it was removed but did not receive a response. It's worth noting that The Tetris Company spoke out against the game in statements posted to social media. 'At Tetris, we believe in the power of connection and bringing people together, not dividing them,' Tetris posted. 'To our fans everywhere: we love you, we see you, and we're grateful to have you in our community.' In a statement to Variety, a spokesperson from The Tetris Company addressed whether they were looking to pursue legal action. 'The Tetris Company was not involved in the creation of 'Build the Wall' and did not authorize or license the Tetris brand or intellectual property for the game,' the spokesperson said. 'For more than 40 years, Tetris has brought people together across generations and cultures through play and joy. The objective of the game has always been to stack with purpose to clear as many lines as possible. We are currently reviewing the matter.' It's not clear if the White House removed this game as a result of the backlash from The Tetris Company, nor is it clear whether the company will indeed pursue legal action. However, The Tetris Company is the only company to speak out directly against these games. An article in Forbes, entitled 'Most Game Publishers Are Ignoring Trump's 'Arcade.gov' Site—Here's Why,' details several reasons why these companies are staying quiet. For example, U.S. copyright law does not protect game mechanics and arcade.gov did not steal the source code but rather recreated the mechanics using original, low-res pixel art. Copyright cases can be weak in this case. Companies such as SEGA could have stronger claims. In a social media post advertising the games, The White House recreated the SEGA logo using the letters of 'MAGA.' However, that could fall under 'fair use' as it can be aimed at satire or public commentary. As Forbes notes, 'while [fair use] may not apply here, it would take an expensive trial to find out.' The Forbes article also noted 'a longer political game' for the big tech companies. 'By staying out of a fight that would be hard and expensive to win, they're avoiding political blowback both among their consumer bases and from the White House itself,' Forbes notes. 'Major multinational corporations like Microsoft, Sony and SEGA rely heavily on the federal government for antitrust approvals, trade policy, federal contracts, tax regulation and other operational practicalities. Filing an intellectual property lawsuit against an active administration creates immediate regulatory friction for a low-stakes web game that likely yields little commercial revenue anyway.' It may be 'low-stakes' but the messages behind these games are still very real and 'Build the Wall' and 'Rio Run' aim to spread hatred and division. And The Tetris Company — whether they pursue legal action or not — made it clear to their consumers that this was something they will not stand behind. Rather than being concerned about 'political blowback,' the big tech companies should worry more about whether the people who play their games will be safe. High-profile musicians such as ABBA, Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen and The Rolling Stones issued formal cease-and-desist demands over the White House and Trump campaign using their music on social media and at events. Meanwhile, artists such as Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Rodrigo seemingly did not issue formal demands but were quick to publicly denounce messaging. Why can't the big tech companies at least do the latter at the bare minimum? The Tetris Company may not pursue legal action. And if they do, they may not win. But they still made sure to let their consumers know where they stand. It's time for the big tech companies to follow suit.