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<\/figure>\n A new system firmware update for the Nintendo Switch<\/a><\/span> has seemingly expanded the console\u2019s list of banned words to include references to child grooming and school shooters. According to a longtime Nintendo dataminer\u2019s review of the latest changes, any users who may have had those terms in their Nintendo account handles saw the names automatically changed after updating their Switches to the latest firmware.<\/p>\n As previously reported<\/a><\/span>, Nintendo maintains a \u201cbad word\u201d list to prohibit Switch users from making accounts that reference certain phrases that might be considered controversial or offensive. In 2020 the list was updated to add \u201cNazi,\u201d \u201cSlave,\u201d \u201cKKK,\u201d \u201cACAB,\u201d and \u201cCovid,\u201d among others. Throughout 2022 it grew to encompass more slurs<\/a><\/span>, rude language<\/a><\/span>, and various misspellings of Hitler<\/a><\/span>. This past week, it was updated again.<\/p>\n \u201cUser nicknames that cannot be used will be replaced with \u201c???\u201d which can be updated from the profile settings<\/a><\/span>,\u201d reads the official patch notes on Nintendo\u2019s website<\/a><\/span>. However, according to longtime Switch dataminer OatmealDome<\/a><\/span>, the full changes include adding more phrases to the ban list such as \u201cgroomer\u201d and \u201csalv8dor.\u201d The first has become a popular phrase co-opted by conservatives to attack the rights of LGTBQ+ people, while the second is a reference to the gunman behind the Uvalde, Texas school shooting last year<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n Read More:<\/strong> Nintendo Switch Sports Players Are Already F***ing With The Game\u2019s Profanity Filter<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cA significant amount of controversial people and organizations were added as well, like ISIS, Adam Lanza (Sandy Hook shooter), Alek Minassian (Toronto van attack perpetrator), etc,\u201d OatmealDome, who reviewed the update files, told Kotaku<\/em>.<\/p>\n G\/O Media may get a commission<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Steam has long dealt with users trying to pose as, or memorialize, the perpetrators of mass shootings, a pattern that\u2019s harder to observe on a platform like Switch which lacks the ability<\/a><\/span> to search for users or send them messages.<\/p>\n OatmealDome added that some terms already on the banned list were \u201cadjusted for broader detection,\u201d such as \u201cballsack,\u201d \u201cbong,\u201d \u201cchatroulette,\u201d \u201ccocaine,\u201d \u201cjackass,\u201d \u201cn19,\u201d \u201csemen,\u201d and \u201ctestes,\u201d while a couple, like Nazi, were moved specifically to the English-language section, possibly to prevent over-censorship in other languages.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear how Nintendo decides when and what to ban, and whether those choices are driven by recent upticks in users attempting to deploy particular phrases or other factors. The company didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment. But it\u2019s far from the only gaming company moderating speech on its network. Microsoft infamously banned the term \u201cKaren\u201d in September 2020<\/a><\/span>, though it later reversed course claiming it was a mistake. <\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n