Here’s why US senators don’t want teens accessing the Facebook metaverse

Two United States senators have asked Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms Inc., to suspend plans to launch his Horizon Worlds metaverse app for teens.

according to a report From the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the senators sent a letter to the CEO, insisting that Meta halt plans immediately, as the launch could contain the same flaws as its kid-friendly Instagram and Messenger apps.

Ask Meta to stop Horizon plans for teens

Horizon is a metaverse app that gives users access to virtual worlds and avatars. thrown out last December, the platform aims to attract 500,000 monthly active users in the first half of 2023. As of January, Horizon had just over 200,000 monthly active users aged 18 and over.

To reach the established goal, Goal decided in February to open Horizon to teens ages 13-17 later this month.

But Senators Markey and Blumenthal believe such a move risks exposing teens to inappropriate content, and have now called on Zuckerberg to stop those plans immediately.

Teens Face Potential Threats in the Metaverse

To substantiate their claims, the senators cited a record of Meta’s inability to protect its young target audience from inappropriate content.

A flaw in Messenger Kids, the version of Messenger for children ages 6 to 12, allowed its users to bypass restrictions and chat with strangers. Meta also failed to prevent tobacco, alcohol, and eating disorder ads from reaching teens.

Additionally, the senators cited a 2021 report that found their Instagram service was toxic to teenage girls. They pointed out that Goals The history of failures has caused the platform to lose parents, pediatricians and legislators.

In addition, adolescents faced the risks of facial and eye movement data collection, physiological damage such as nausea and eyestrain, exposure to abusive behaviors, and sexual content in the metaverse.

In a statement sent to WSJ, Senator Markey said: “Meta can’t protect youth on its platforms now, so Mark Zuckerberg has no right to lure more teens into the wild west of the metaverse.”