Meta urged to halt plans to allow teens into the metaverse

Dozens of advocacy organisations and children’s safety experts are calling on Meta Platforms to terminate its plans to allow minors into its new virtual reality world. 

Meta is planning to invite teenagers and young adults to join its metaverse app, Horizon Worlds, in the coming months. But the groups and experts that signed the letter, which was sent to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg last week, argue that minors will face harassment and privacy violations on the virtual reality app, which is still in its early stages. 

“Meta must wait for more peer-reviewed research on the potential risks of the metaverse to be certain that children and teens would be safe,” wrote the groups, led by online safety groups including Fairplay, the Center for Countering Digital Hate and Common Sense Media. 

The letter points to a March report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate that found users under 18 are already facing harassment from adults on the app. Researchers with the centre witnessed 19 episodes of abuse directed at minors by adults, including sexual harassment, during 100 visits to the most popular worlds within Horizon Universe.

“Before we make Horizon Worlds available to teens, we will have additional protections and tools in place to help provide age-appropriate experiences for them,” Joe Osborne, a Meta spokesperson, said. “Quest headsets are for people 13+ and we encourage parents and caretakers to use our parental supervision tools, including managing access to apps, to help ensure safe experiences.”

Meta has faced widespread scrutiny over the effect of its products on the mental health of youngsters. A Facebook whistle-blower in 2021 accused the company of placing profits over safety and failing to protect children, particularly teenage girls who spent excessive amounts of time on Instagram. 

Research on the issue is divided, with some studies concluding that high levels of social media engagement lead to depression in minors while others found there is little correlation. 

The letter’s signatories wrote that Meta should carve out a new path with its new flagship project in the metaverse. “Should Meta throw open the doors of these worlds to minors rather than pause to protect them, you would, yet again, demonstrate your company to be untrustworthy when it comes to safeguarding young people’s best interests,” they wrote.

The minimum age for the metaverse app is now 18.

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