Exploitation

The internet, like the industrial revolution, changed the way world economies work. In the early 1990s the internet started to take off, and by 1995 many of the modern internet moguls started to claim their ground, e.g.: Microsoft, Amazon, eBay, and Yahoo (History of the Internet). By 2004, Google came to be, internet piracy started to create controversy, Napster was shut down, and World of Warcraft released worldwide (History of the Internet)(Blizzard Entertainment). A new medium for sales had been created. People could order things they wanted online. Businesses models developed around selling consumers’ personal information to third parties (Terms and Conditions May Apply). In the world of gaming virtual and digital economies started to form. The internet, in many regards, is new. While it simplified and connected many elements of the world, it created new issues that have yet to be fully understood. Modern day sweatshops, where benefits of the virtual economies are reaped, give proof to the misunderstandings that come with the internet, but through research and historical contexts the new economy may be better understood, and thus taken advantage of less.

The economy is complex, filled with many sectors and markets, and it gives many people great confusion to try and grasp—the virtual and digital economies are no different. First, there exists three levels: ICT infrastructure, digital economy, and virtual economy (Lehdonvirta 6). ICT infrastructure is the internet connection itself; it’s the internet companies selling the service. Digital economies are more common than virtual economies. Digital economies are vast and plentiful, including: online shopping, online services, games, and eCommerce (Lehdonvirta 6). Virtual economies come from digital economies—just as digital economies come from ICT infrastructure. However virtual economies are where many labor and human rights issues begin to arise. Goldfarming and microwork are two common practices in virtual economies. Like goods in reality, the goods in online games—such as World of Warcraft—can come with great work and time. Products needed to make some virtual goods might be exceptionally scarce or hard to find. These scarcities cause people to assign value. Value can translate to money, or time and effort. When people assign something value, there is often an opportunity to find profit. Goldfarming is a direct result of this idea.

When the Industrial Revolution occurred many new opportunities arose for people to invest and create profit. “The labor movement in the United States grew out of the need to protect the common interest of workers” (Labor Movement). People were overworked, given terrible working conditions, did not earn enough money to live comfortable, and the political landscapes were not changing quick enough to eradicate the issues prematurely. In many ways, the virtual economies are similar. Goldfarming, in many cases, results in digital sweatshops that parallel the working conditions of pre-labor movement America. “Laborers could reasonably be seen as units of undifferentiated work fueling the amassing of wealth near the top of the pyramid” (Fish). In Chinese prisons, the wealth of virtual economies did not go unnoticed. To capitalize on the market, many prisoners are forced to play the game for twelve hours at a time (Vincent).One of the prisoners stated, “Prison bosses made more money forcing inmates to play games than they do forcing people to do manual labour…There were 300 prisoners forced to play games. We worked 12-hour shifts in the camp. I heard them say they could earn 5,000-6,000rmb [£470-570] a day. We didn't see any of the money. The computers were never turned off” (Vincent). Prisoners were also given quotas for objects to be collected or made. According to the same prisoner, not meeting the quotas resulted in physical punishments, such as beatings and being forced to hold his hands up in the air until exhaustion.

The massive growth of the virtual economy makes abusive instances more common than preferred, as government bodies struggle to create policies with enough haste to combat the issues. In 2008, only four years after the launch of World of Warcraft, 1.8 billion dollars of “make-believe” currency was traded in China (Vincent). In 2008, 2.4 million dollars of actually money entered the gaming market in China (Lehdonvirta 11). By 2012 growth had nearly doubled to 5.6 million dollars, and near a quarter of all Chinese gamers bought items from third party sources, such as the Chinese prison goldfarmers (Lehdonvirta 11). To stop the labor and human rights exploitations, historical contexts may need to be applied. In America, during the early 20th century, the government did little to prevent the exploitation of labor and people. Following World War I and the going up to the Great Depression, people in unsafe, poor paying jobs went on strike (Labor Movement). A lot of the 20th century showed movements towards regulated labor laws, but a lot of it showed steps back—as large companies fought the bills that brought regulations and prolonged paying more for safety and wages. Virtual sweatshop owners are working in impoverished areas where laborers have little choice of wages. Strikes, like done in America, would only result in firings, which would result in no wages, as work in many impoverished areas is scarce and hard to come by—especially quality work. The best action to take is spreading the message about virtual sweatshops, and making people conscious of where the materials are coming from. The economy shifted dramatically after the internet and people are still scrambling to figure out all the side-effects of its arrival. In a class discussion, Shaun Bush wrote “One way the WSUCON has an economic value, for example, in the League of Legends players who use the CON to prepare for work in a professional League of Legends lifestyle, utilizing both watching the other players playing an displaying themselves to develop their skills. Some people even attend the CON just to watch the games, showing an example of the emerging professional gaming lifestyle in our society. Some people found within the professional gaming lifestyle can be seen on YouTube, such as popular gamers Pewdiepie and Markiplier.”

Goldfarming, microwork, professional gaming, Youtube stars, the internet offers many ways to earn money. It offers many ways to learn new information. Growth comes with setbacks, and research and knowledge may help prevent the negative side effects of the internet from expanding any further than they already have. Given time though, government policy will likely eradicate digital sweatshops from the internet.