"It's children being exposed to entirely inappropriate, really incredibly harmful experience"
Access for the X-Rated
Others are skeptical of Mark Zuckerberg's claim that the metaverse will usher in a utopian future. One metaverse software, for example, has been chastised for allowing children to join virtual sex clubs.
During a BBC investigation, a researcher acting as a 13-year-old was able to acquire access to a virtual sex club via a metaverse software called VRChat. Numerous adult men allegedly approached the researcher, who was also shown sex equipment, condoms, and various avatars simulating intercourse.
"It's children being exposed to very improper and extremely detrimental events," says the author. Andy Burrows is the head of online safety policy at the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, told the broadcaster.
Many apps available on VR devices do not have age verification checks, which is a problem. As a result, creating a fake profile and accessing the apparently adults-only experiences was exceedingly simple for the researcher.
Burrows told the BBC, "This is a product that is deadly by design, due to oversight and carelessness." "We're seeing items released without any indication that they've been tested for safety."
Meta currently prohibits users under the age of 13 from using the Oculus device. However, children can easily get around this by using their parents' accounts or by creating a false account, as one researcher told the BBC.
Overall, it's a negative omen for the metaverse's young state, which is already beset with occurrences of sexual assault and warnings from experts about child predators.
