Experts Worry Metaverse Will Become A Haven For Child Predators – Sault Star

Facebook’s push into the metaverse could provide a new frontier for humanity, but many worry the virtual world could also be a haven for child sex predators.

A metaverse is a virtual place where people donning augmented or virtual reality headsets can interact with each other via avatars. People can hang out as they do in the real world and just like out here, bad things can happen, especially where children are concerned.

Facebook, now known as Meta, aims to be the leader in the metaverse space.

Its new virtual-reality app, Horizon Worlds, has come under fire from critics who complain children are joining. It’s only suppose to be available to those 18 and up.

Experts have expressed concerns that mixing kids and adult strangers in a self-moderated virtual world creates an opportunity for sexual predators looking to prey on children, reported the Washington Post.

Vice recently reported similar findings in relation to how things are going for the moderators tasked with keeping things running smoothly in the virtual world.

As many as 20 avatars can interact in each open space, but nothing precludes only a couple, say a predator and a child, from doing so, which is obviously a far bigger issue than children being silly and goofing around on adults.

In December, counterhate.com reported research that it conducted on VR Chat — the most reviewed social app in the metaverse — was rife with abuse, harassment, racism, and pornographic content.

CCDH researchers found that users, including minors, are exposed to abusive behaviour every seven minutes. They said Facebook/Meta was unresponsive to all reports of abusive content.

Meta says things are still evolving, and it will grow in terms of combating abuse in the metaverse.

“Our goal is to make Horizon Worlds and Horizon Venues safe, and we are committed to doing that work,” Meta spokesperson Kristina Milian told the Post.

It’s expected that law enforcement will adapt to the metaverse, too, and try to help root out predators as it does elsewhere online.

In Canada, Protectchildren.ca encouraged anyone who sees anything resembling abuse to report it.

“It’s a normal reaction to avoid something that makes you feel uncomfortable, but, keep in mind, there is a child that needs your protection,” Protectchildren.ca said.

Sexual harassment of grown women, including virtual groping, is already a thing in the metaverse, according to technologyreview.com.

On Nov. 26, a participant reported she had been virtually groped by a stranger on Horizon Worlds in a beta testing group, according to a Meta reveal on Dec. 1.

In response, Vivek Sharma, the vice president of Horizon, told the Verge about safety features built into Horizon Worlds that includes a tool called “Safe Zone,” which allows users to basically be in a bubble. “Within it, no one can touch them, talk to them, or interact in any way until they signal that they would like the Safe Zone lifted.”

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