Metaverse, which is considered to be the next big thing is already under a lot of scrutiny due to safety and privacy concerns as UK police registered and began investigating the first reported gang rape case in Metaverse. First reported by Dailymail, the virtual avatar of a 16-year-old girl (minor) was gang raped by a group of online strangers.
The incident took place in a virtual video game, where users are required to wear a VR headset to interact with other players within the Metaverse, which is nothing but a virtual world with digital avatars of real users.
The report highlights that the child was ‘attacked’ in the virtual Metaverse, and she did not incur any injuries, as there was no physical contact. However, UK police officers have reported that the victim has suffered from emotional and psychological trauma. In fact, there are also similar reports of virtual rape in games like Horizon Worlds and Horizon Venues, games by Meta, available for free on the Metaverse.
Crimes in the Metaverse are not just limited to sexual abuse, there are also several reports of virtual robbery, identity theft, and ransom attacks.
‘The kind of behaviour described has no place on our platform, which is why for all users we have an automatic protection called personal boundary, which keeps people you don’t know a few feet away from you,’ a Meta spokesperson said.
Metaverse is a virtual world by the company Meta, the brand which also owns social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Metaverse allows people to live their fantasy lives by masking their real age, gender, and other identities. The UK might soon pass an Online Safety Act bill to prevent such incidents within the Metaverse in the future.
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First uploaded on: 03-01-2024 at 15:50 IST
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