KIDS are able to access disturbing virtual strip clubs in the metaverse where they’re approached by adults, an investigation has found.
A researcher who posed as a minor was easily able to get onto an app called VRChat and was exposed to all sorts of inappropriate behaviour.
2
According to one person, avatars are able to “get naked and do unspeakable things”.
Users have also been sharing their creepy experiences online for sometime.
The metaverse is a social space that users can socialise in – a bit like Facebook, but in virtual reality.
Facebook’s owner Meta does not run the app but it does operate the popular Meta Quest headsets used to access it on.
VRChat is home to many innocent things like supermarkets and even a McDonald’s.
But there are also pole-dancing venues and strip clubs lurking around, the BBC reports.
Most read in News Tech
This is despite the app having a 13+ age rating.
There are no age verification checks to download the app, in fact all you need is a Facebook account.
The NSPCC has condemned the technology, calling it “dangerous by design”.
“It’s children being exposed to entirely inappropriate, really incredibly harmful experiences,” said Andy Burrows, who leads online child safety for the charity.
“We are seeing products rolled out without any suggestion that safety has been considered.”
Meta responded saying it has no responsibility for the app because it did make it.
“We provide tools that allow players to report and block users,” a rep said.
“We will continue to make improvements as we learn more about how people interact in these spaces.”
Jake Moore, a security advisor at ESET said the metaverse has enabled users to create new situations and locations in a fantasy realm but “unfortunately this has led to its creativity being abused by a number of users who will ultimately ruin it for younger audiences”.
“The metaverse is still very young and regulations are far from being ready to be able to police this new virtual world,” he explained.
“Meta must design the platform with security, privacy and safety in mind but sadly profits are clearly dominating at present whilst it finds its feet.
“If younger users are tipped to be the generation to take it on then Meta must enforce better protection and safety measures for all audiences.”
2
In other news, people are increasingly unable to tell apart fake faces made by AI and real ones, new research suggests.
Websites could crash in a couple of months if owners fail to make major change ahead of Chrome, Edge and Firefox ‘version 100’ update.
Uber has revealed the worst and best cities for passenger ratings.
And the naughtiest ever emoji combinations to be careful of have been revealed.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at [email protected]
This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
