From ads to trolls to predators, virtual worlds offer anonymity and a lack of accountability for behaviors that target children.
Social media has also fueled new avenues for IRL crimes, including bullying, violence, child pornography, sexual assault, and human trafficking.
As the Metaverse aims to bring us closer together through fully-immersive experiences, children’s long-term cognitive, emotional, physical & social risks must be better understood.
Join our panel of industry experts to catch a glimpse behind the scenes and learn about the dark side of the Metaverse.
Session Video
The panel, "Exposing the Underbelly of the Metaverse," brought together industry experts to discuss the risks associated with virtual worlds, particularly as they relate to children. The speakers included Kavya Pearlman, the founder of the XR Safety Initiative, who moderated the panel; John Tanagho, the Executive Director of IJM’s Center to End Online Sexual Exploitation of Children; Justin Brookman, the Director of Technology Policy for Consumer Reports; and Dan Fitter, who leads PUBLIC’s Privacy, Security & Online Safety domain.
The main objective of the panel was to raise awareness of the dark side of the metaverse and to educate the audience about the risks to children's long-term cognitive, emotional, physical, and social well-being. The speakers discussed the anonymity and lack of accountability that virtual worlds offer, which can make children vulnerable to bullying, violence, sexual exploitation, and trafficking.
The panelists also discussed potential solutions to these issues, including the need for better education and awareness for both parents and children about online safety and the importance of privacy and security measures in virtual worlds. They also emphasized the need for technology companies to develop and implement strong standards and policies to protect children from harm in virtual environments.
During the panel, the experts discussed various aspects of the metaverse and its potential impact on children. Some of the main ideas and insights discussed include:
The metaverse offers anonymity and a lack of accountability, which makes it easier for bad actors to target children for various forms of abuse, such as cyberbullying, child pornography, and human trafficking.
To mitigate the risks associated with the metaverse, there is a need for increased awareness, education, and regulation around online safety, particularly for children.
Multi-stakeholder collaboration is essential to creating a safer metaverse, and industry players, policymakers, law enforcement, and civil society organizations must work together to develop and implement safety standards and guidelines.
Privacy and security must be prioritized in the development of the metaverse, and companies must adopt privacy-by-design principles to ensure that user data is protected.
There is a need for more research to better understand the potential long-term cognitive, emotional, physical, and social risks associated with children's exposure to the metaverse.
The experts discussed various solutions, including the need for technology and financial sector improvements to detect and report live-streamed child sexual exploitation, as well as the development of privacy and safety frameworks and standards for the immersive technologies domain.
The panel also emphasized the importance of empowering children to be responsible digital citizens and providing them with the tools and resources to stay safe online.
Overall, the panelists stressed the importance of understanding the risks associated with virtual worlds and taking proactive steps to ensure the safety and well-being of children in these environments.
We are entering a post-reality era with a diminishing sense of safety, privacy, and trust. We need to come together to address these risks proactively and reduce harm to humans and societies. X Reality Safety Intelligence (XRSI) believes that the first step to this is creating awareness and safeguards.
Metaverse Safety Week 2023 is a week-long safety campaign, and we need your generous support in making it a Free-for-All, Accessible & Inclusive for everyone.
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