Mark Zuckerberg Faces Backlash Over Plans To Let Children Access Metaverse

Meta Platforms Inc. META, the parent company of Facebook, is facing criticism and calls to reconsider its plans to allow minors into the metaverse due to concerns about their safety and well-being. 

What Happened: Advocacy groups and experts in children’s safety have urged Meta to cancel its forthcoming introduction of minors to its virtual reality platform, Horizon Worlds, citing concerns over potential harassment and privacy breaches on the platform, which is in its early stages, reported Bloomberg. 

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The groups and experts signed a letter and sent it to the company’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, on Friday, stating, “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.”

The opposition is led by online safety groups, including Fairplay, the Center for Countering Digital Hate and Common Sense Media. 

In a statement, Joe Osborne, a spokesperson for Meta, stated that the company will implement additional safeguards and tools to offer age-appropriate experiences for teenagers before making Horizon Worlds accessible to them.

“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 did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment. 

Why It’s Important: The letter highlights a March report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, which reveals that users under the age of 18 are already being subjected to harassment from adults on the app, the report noted. 

Researchers from the center observed 19 instances of abuse, including sexual harassment, directed at minors by adults during 100 visits to the most popular worlds within Horizon Universe.

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