Will teens soon be able to roam the metaverse? That is what Facebook wants in any case, which has announced its intention to open the doors of its Horizon Worlds metaverse for young people between the ages of 13 and 17 starting in March.
But Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal, Democratic US senators, intend to pressure Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg to back down. For the two politicians, authors of a letter addressed to the company and revealed by the Wall Street Journalthe metaverse poses a threat to young internet users.
Inappropriate content every 7 minutes
To support their request, the two senators point out certain shortcomings of Facebook and its various applications in the field of child protection. Messenger Kids, the messaging app for children from 6 to 12 years old, made it possible in particular to circumvent age limits and thus allow very young children to chat with strangers and thus possibly adults.
A study by the Center for Countering of Digital Hate also estimates that metaverse users are exposed to abusive content (pornography, harassment, racism) every 7 minutes.
Beyond the content that could quickly become inappropriate for a young audience, there is the problem of the helmet. Imposing and heavy, it would not be suitable for users aged 13-17. Wearing a helmet could especially lead to problems with nausea or eyestrain.
For its part, Facebook ensures that the helmet was designed to be used from the age of 13 and that all adjustments will be made to make the metaverse a safe and appropriate place for adolescents, with specific configurations for age and strict rules.
very limited adoption
The American company’s goal is above all to win over young users, who might be more inclined to return to the virtual world than current users, who must be adults. Their community retention rate is currently 11%, which means that only one in ten players return to the metaverse every month.
Facebook also wants to expand the Horizon Worlds community more generally, trying to increase the number of monthly active players from 200,000 to 500,000 by June 2023 and up to 1 million by the end of the year. Mobile and desktop versions of Horizon Worlds will also be released in the coming months, in order to appeal to internet users who are not yet willing to shell out several hundred bucks for a Facebook headset.
Source: BFM TV
