Critics Argue Meta's Lack Of Policing In Metaverse Is Harmful For Underage Users: Washington Post Report

For years, Meta Platforms Inc META has argued that the best way to protect people in virtual reality is by giving users tools to control their environments, like blocking or distancing other users. 

It is a responsibility that is more difficult for younger users to execute, critics argue.

Experts warn against the moderation strategy for the kids flocking to Horizon Worlds, which is flush with bias, harassment, and sexually explicit content, the Washington Post reports.

Meta, which designed Horizon Worlds, has a poor track record responding to the multiplication of dangerous rhetoric on its social media platforms, critics add.

Though Meta officially prohibits children below 18 from its flagship VR app, kids and teens reportedly use the program in droves, operating accounts held by adults or lying about their ages.

The emerging research suggests that victims of harassment and bullying in virtual reality often experience similar psychological effects as they would in real-life attacks.

Despite the risks, Meta plans to open up Horizon Worlds to younger users between 13 and 17, drawing the anger of child-welfare activists and regulators, suggesting that Meta drop the idea.

The controversy flares up as Meta visualizes a future where people will work, play and shop together in digital experiences that look and feel like the real world but are powered by virtual and augmented reality devices.

Meta's protective tools failed to stop illicit content from proliferating across the metaverse, often appearing in front of users who appear to be children, the reports adds.

Meta Global Affairs President Nick Clegg compared the metaverse strategy to being of a bar owner. If a patron is confronted by "an uncomfortable amount of abusive language," they'd simply leave.

"Meta is not running a bar. No bar has ever caused a genocide," Imran Ahmed, the CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, said. "No bar has ever been a breeding ground for the country's most dangerous predators. Facebook has been all those things, and so is the metaverse."