US Senators reject teens in Facebook's Metaverse.
Louis Nshuti
Social Entrepreneur | I love technologies that facilitate social good and make lives in grassroots communities better!
The senators referred to Meta's history of social media platforms designed for children that were flawed and failed to safeguard them from inappropriate content.
Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta Platforms Inc., Facebook's parent company, has been requested by two US senators to halt the launch of its Horizon Worlds metaverse app for teenagers. In a letter sent to the CEO, the senators emphasized that the app's release could have the same defects as Meta's Instagram and Messenger apps for kids, and asked for an immediate cessation of the plans. The Wall Street Journal reported the story.
US senators ask Meta to stop Horizon plans for teens.
Horizon is a metaverse app that enables users to access virtual worlds and avatars. The platform was launched in December with a target of 500,000 monthly active users in H1 2023. However, as of January, only 200,000+ monthly active users aged 18 and above were recorded. To reach its target, Meta intends to make Horizon accessible to teenagers aged 13 to 17 later this month, a decision that senators Markey and Blumenthal think could expose them to inappropriate content. As a result, they have requested Zuckerberg to cancel the plan immediately.
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Teenagers could be exposed to potential dangers in the Metaverse.
The senators substantiated their claims by citing Meta's history of inadequately protecting its young target audience from inappropriate content. They pointed out flaws in Messenger Kids that enabled children aged 6 to 12 to chat with strangers, and the failure to block tobacco, alcohol, and eating disorder ads from reaching teenagers. In addition, they referenced a 2021 report revealing that Meta's Instagram service had a harmful impact on teen girls, causing the platform to lose parents, pediatricians, and policymakers. The senators further mentioned risks that teenagers face on the metaverse, including the collection of face and eye movement data, physical discomfort such as nausea and eyestrain, exposure to abusive behavior, and sexual content.
In a statement sent to WSJ, Senator Markey said: “Meta can’t protect the young people on its platforms now, so Mark Zuckerberg has no right to pull more teens into the wild west of the metaverse.”
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