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Here's why US senators don't want teens accessing Facebook's metaverse
Two U.S. senators have asked Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms Inc., to halt plans to release his Metaverse app Horizon Worlds for teenagers. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the senators sent a letter to the CEO insisting that Meta stop plans immediately because the release could contain the same bugs as their Instagram and messaging apps for kids. Meta Asked to Stop Horizon Plans for Teens Horizon is a Metaverse application that allows users to access virtual worlds and avatars. Launched last December, the platform is scheduled to launch in the first half of...
Here's why US senators don't want teens accessing Facebook's metaverse
Two U.S. senators have asked Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms Inc., to halt plans to release his Metaverse app Horizon Worlds for teenagers.
According to areportfrom the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the senators sent a letter to the CEO insisting that Meta stop the plans immediately because the release could contain the same errors as their Instagram and messenger apps for children.
Meta asked to stop Horizon plans for teenagers
Horizon is a metaverse application that allows users to access virtual worlds and avatars.StartedLast December, the platform was expected to attract 500,000 monthly active users in the first half of 2023. As of January, Horizon had just over 200,000 monthly active users ages 18 and older.
To achieve the set goal, metadecidedin February to open Horizon to teens ages 13 to 17 later that month.
But Senators Markey and Blumenthal believe such a decision risks exposing teenagers to inappropriate content, and they have now asked Zuckerberg to stop such plans immediately.
Teenagers must face potential threats in the Metaverse
To support their claims, the senators cited a recording fromMeta's ineptitudeto protect their young target group from inappropriate content.
A bug in Messenger Kids - the version of Messenger for children aged 6 to 12 - allowed its users to bypass restrictions and chat with strangers. Meta also couldn't stop ads for tobacco, alcohol and eating disorders from reaching teenagers.
Additionally, the senators mentioned a 2021 report that found the Instagram service toxic for teenage girls. They noticed thatMetasThe track record of failure has seen the platform lose parents, pediatricians and policymakers.
In addition, the teens were exposed to the risks of facial and eye movement data collection, physiological damage such as nausea and eyestrain, exposure to abusive behavior and sexual content on the Metaverse.
In a statement to WSJ, Senator Markey said: "Meta can't protect the young people on its platforms now, so Mark Zuckerberg has no right to drag more teenagers into the wild west of the metaverse."
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