Meta (Facebook) launched a metaverse app, called Horizon Worlds, in December 2022. The app offers users the ability to access multiple virtual worlds and avatars. For strategic reasons, Meta has decided to extend access to its metaverse to teenagers. But US senators fiercely oppose this idea. They would like Meta to immediately stop his Horizon plans for the teens. Here’s why.
Meta targets teenagers to increase the number of users!
Meta’s metaverse platform project has received a lot of criticism over the past year. Indeed, in April 2022, the American engineer Frances Haugen raised fears about this metaverse. Now it’s US senators who oppose Meta’s new move on its metaverse. The latter consists of allowing teenagers to access the new virtual world of Facebook. The move is part of Meta’s plan to reach 500,000 monthly active userss. The company wants to reach this figure for the account of the first half of 2023.
Note that the metaverse platform reached 200,000 monthly active users, aged 18 and over, in January. To increase this number significantly, Meta has decided to allow access to teenagers from 13 to 17 years old. According to US senators, teenagers should not access the platform because it may contain inappropriate content. Lawmakers made this clear in a letter to Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta Platforms Inc.
A Wall Street Journal report found the content of the letter. In the document, the senators call on Zuckerberg to immediately drop allowing teenagers access to Horizon Worlds. They indicated that Meta risk of repeating the same mistakes as with its Instagram and Messenger platforms for children.
It should be noted that for a long time, these platforms have been criticized for not preventing the dissemination of content inappropriate for children. For example, on Messenger Kids, which is only intended for children aged 6 to 12, a flaw has been noticed. This allows strangers to get in touch with young users after bypassing the restrictions.
US senators criticize Meta for failing to prevent tobacco and alcohol ads from reaching teens. They also cited a 2021 report that the Instagram service is toxic to teenage girls. Senator Markey said:Meta can’t protect 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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