Facebook Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Minors exposed to sexual content on VR apps === In February 2022, a [[BBC News]] researcher posing as a 13-year-old girl witnessed grooming, sexual material, racist insults and a rape threat on the [[VRChat]] app. The [[National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children]] head of online child safety policy Andy Burrows added the investigation had found "a toxic combination of risks". The BBC researcher downloaded VRChat from an app store on Facebook's [[Meta Quest]] headset, with no age verification checks β the only requirement being a Facebook account. The BBC News researcher created a fake profile to set up her account β and her real identity was not checked.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-60415317 |title=Metaverse app allows kids into virtual strip clubs |work=[[BBC News]]|date= February 23, 2022|access-date=February 25, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.yahoo.com/now/metaverse-app-allows-kids-virtual-081835947.html |title=Metaverse app allows kids into virtual strip clubs |publisher=Yahoo.com |date=February 23, 2022 |access-date=February 25, 2022 |archive-date=February 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225204518/https://www.yahoo.com/now/metaverse-app-allows-kids-virtual-081835947.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> While Oculus has a form where users can report abuse, the [[Center for Countering Digital Hate]] claims Meta rarely takes them seriously; although reporting 100 policy violations on Oculus, they did not receive a response. Imran Ahmed, the charity's chief executive, branded it "a cesspit of hate, pornography and child grooming".<ref>Roper, Matt (February 9, 2022). [https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/predators-use-virtual-reality-chatroom-26186533 "Predators use virtual reality chatroom to target children on popular gaming device."] ''[[Daily Mirror|Mirror.co.uk]]''. Retrieved February 27, 2022.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.counterhate.com/post/new-research-shows-metaverse-is-not-safe-for-kids |title=New research shows Metaverse is not safe for kids |publisher=Counterhate.com |date=December 30, 2021 |accessdate=February 25, 2022}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page