Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the growing market for peer-to-peer trading on platforms such as Steam, which allow for games to be uploaded to people that are located nearby, and what steps they are taking to regulate that market.

Platforms including Steam allow users to trade games from one personal computer to another over a local area network. Default settings on Steam are for transfers only to be enabled in and out of personal computers where a user’s own account is logged in. In order to be in receipt of a game file transfer, users must opt in to share with other users.

As a trader operating an online platform which facilitates the sale and supply of gaming products to consumers, Steam has legal responsibilities under consumer law.

The transfer of data over any network needs to be done securely. HM Government is working with software vendors to set minimum standards which should be expected when delivering secure software. All technology should be built in line with the Secure by Design principles available on the National Cyber Security Centre’s website.

All online platforms likely to be accessed by children must conform with the children’s code and apply measures to protect the data rights of children. For example, children’s geolocation data should not be shared by default and children’s accounts should have the highest privacy settings enabled by default.

The Government continues to monitor this market and will consider any emerging evidence on this issue.