Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: four martyrs, 70 injured by IOF fire near aid center west of Rafah, southern Gaza.
The Mujahideen Movement: The two were killed along with dozens of others from their family in a cowardly Zionist assassination that targeted the Sabra neighborhood today
The Palestinian Mujahideen Movement mourns the martyrdom of its Secretary-General, Asaad Attiya Abu Sharia "Abu Al-Sheikh", along with his brother Ahmad
Abu Zaid: I believe that the Iranian operation was multi-layered, combining cyber and electronic attacks with coordinated on-the-ground infiltrations by agents
Abu Zaid: Usually, archives of such sensitivity are typically protected by a full-scale security system, but it appears that Iranian intelligence managed to make use of a gap in it
Strategic military expert Nidal Abu Zaid: Iran has stripped "Israel" of the superiority and deterrence long boasted by its security minister, chief of staff, and other top officials
Fallahpour: Iran may use these documents in its battle with the United States and Western countries over its nuclear program
Fallahpour: Iran may have obtained additional documents related to "Israel's" regional projects, not just its nuclear program
Fallahpour: The coming weeks will be full of surprises, as Iran has forced Israeli intelligence agencies into a state of psychological exhaustion
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Tehran, Siavash Fallahpour: Iran has redefined the concept of deterrence, shifting it away from traditional military balance toward a new strategic framework

Pedophilia, sexual coercion and adult content widespread in Metaverse

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 23 Feb 2022 16:00
  • 1 Shares
4 Min Read

A BBC researcher puts on a 13-year-old guise and sees what happens.

  • x
  • Children are vulnerable to the lawlessness of the Metaverse. (Getty)
    Children are vulnerable to the lawlessness of the Metaverse. (Getty)

The Metaverse could pose big risks to children, given that some apps in the virtual reality world are simply "dangerous by design," according to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). 

The BBC researcher, Jess Sherwood, posed as a 13-year-old girl, and she was subject to grooming, racist insults, and a rape threat in addition to being exposed to sexual material in the metaverse.

The NSPCC said they were "shocked and angry" at what they experienced. 

Sherwood used an app that bears a minimum age of 13 and was granted access to a virtual-reality room where people were engaging in sexual contact. She was shown adult-rated material, such as condoms, and was approached by many men. 

Sherwood used a headset produced by Meta, the Meta Quest - which owns up to 75% of the market share. She used the VRChat to be able to explore the Metaverse through 3D avatars. 

Although the app wasn't made by Facebook, it can be downloaded through the Meta Quest headset with no age checks. 

Inside the VRChat, users can engage in all sorts of meet-ups and activities, including going to McDonald's. However, there are some not-so-innocent endeavors, such as strip clubs, where avatars, children and adults, can take their clothes off and "do unspeakable things," as one man told the BBC researcher. 

Related News

French court to rule on surgeon who assaulted over 300 patients

Sexual abuse of Gaza detainees in Israeli prisons going rampant

After this investigation, the NSPCC stressed that online safety is urgent, and that what was found was "extraordinary."

"It's children being exposed to entirely inappropriate, really incredibly harmful experiences," said Andy Burrows of the NSPCC.

"This is a product that is dangerous by design, because of oversight and neglect. We are seeing products rolled out without any suggestion that safety has been considered," he said.

One safety campaigner, who asked to remain anonymous for the safety of his family, spoke to BBC and said that virtual reality is so immersive that children were instructed to act out sexual movements

Sherwood weighed in on her experience acting as a 13-year-old in VRChat: "I was surprised how totally immersed in the spaces you are. I started to feel like a child again. So when grown men were asking why I wasn't in school and encouraging me to engage in VR sex acts, it felt all the more disturbing.

"VRChat definitely felt more like an adult's playground than a child's. A lot of the rooms were overtly sexualised in pink neon, similar to what you might see in the red light district in Amsterdam or in the more seedy parts of London's Soho at night.

"The music playing in the rooms, which can be controlled by the players, adds to the impression that it is not a space that is suitable for children."

Harassment in the Metaverse is an existential threat to Zuckerberg's plans

Andrew Bosworth, the Chief Technology Officer at Facebook's rebrand label, Meta, said that harassment poses an "existential threat" to Zuckerberg's plans for the metaverse. 

Although the CTO in an article in the Financial Times said he wanted Meta to have "Disney levels of safety," harassment could bear a "toxic environment" to women and minorities in particular. 

If safety in the metaverse is not dealt with properly, users will be driven away from the medium. However, Bosworth asserts that controlling what people say and their behavior "at any meaningful scale is practically impossible." 

Meta, for now, is relying on artificial intelligence to regulate speech and behavior. However, in the long term, that will change. “Meta is not going to build, own, or run the metaverse on its own. We are starting conversations about our vision for the metaverse early before some of the technologies even exist”, said a Meta spokesperson to The Independent.

  • Sexual abuse
  • sexual assault
  • Metaverse
  • pedophilia

Most Read

Lebanon's PM Nawaf Salam meets with US envoy Morgan Ortagus in Beirut on April 5, 2025 (Dalati Nohra via AP)AP)

Morgan Ortagus to exit US role in Lebanon amid policy shift

  • Politics
  • 1 Jun 2025
A Palestinian woman mourns as she embraces the body of her daughter Mayar Abu Odeh, 8, who was killed in an Israeli army strike on Gaza. at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (AP)

French port workers block arms shipment to 'Israel' amid Gaza genocide

  • Politics
  • 4 Jun 2025
The logo of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence (wikidata)

Iran acquired thousands of sensitive Israeli documents: Exclusive

  • Politics
  • 7 Jun 2025
New Syrian group claims Golan strike, vows resistance to 'Israel'

New Syrian group claims Golan strike, vows resistance to 'Israel'

  • Politics
  • 4 Jun 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/pentagon-chief--nato-likely-to-back-trump-s-5--defence-spend
Politics

Europe spent $3 trillion on defense, but got little in return - FT

Power, parties, and scandal: Trump’s ties to Epstein: Telegraph
Europe

Power, parties, and scandal: Trump’s ties to Epstein - The Telegraph

Eilat port as seen from the sea, occupied Palestine, March 12 2009 (wikimedia commons)
Politics

YAF operations forced 80% plunge in Eilat port revenues in 2024

EU backs International Criminal Court after US sanctions judges
Europe

EU backs International Criminal Court after US sanctions judges

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS