Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Metaverse app allows kids into virtual strip clubs
Meta, former Facebook, says it is committed to making and keeping the metaverse safe for everyone (yesterday’s Vol.3611). But in a metaverse, developers can create a virtual space where people can use their avatars to do anything they want, including a space that isn’t appropriate for children to enter. For example, inside a metaverse app, VRChat, there are rooms where users’ avatars can meet at a dancing club or strip bar. The problem is that anyone at any age could go into this virtual space only with a Facebook account, whose identity isn’t usually verified. So, a primary school kid could enter this adult space and be sexually intimidated or assaulted by adults. It is far from just playing a VR game. Since the virtual space is totally immersed once you put on a VR headset, it is quite dangerous. Also, it is difficult for parents to find out what their child is experiencing in the headset. And remember, it is 3D, where things look and feel very real. Are the ways to protect children from such harmful experiences?
Read the article and learn about the dark side of the metaverse.
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