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- The South Korean government has reported a sexual abuse case in the metaverse.
- The offender has not made any of the gathered content public.
- A 43-year-old female researcher was groped by three people on Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse platform.
People are Not Safe in Metaverse Either
Metaverse is still a long way from becoming a mainstream concept. Many are eagerly waiting for the notion to come alive. But space has its own issues which need to be solved before people can enter the virtual worlds. Bad actors are everywhere, and they are not leaving the digital space alone. We are not talking about the hackers, but a sexual abusers.
Recently, a man was sentenced to jail time for such an activity. The authorities have not revealed the Identity of the individual. According to a domestic news website, the man met the underaged folks on a metaverse platform and forced them to send him images of their body parts. He used a virtual avatar to misrepresent his age in front of others.
The government has ordered the man to go through 80-hour programs for sex offenders and jail time for four years. The authorities have said that the criminal cannot work for any other company working for disabled or teens for seven years. A sigh of relief was that any of the content was not made public.
The South Korean government recently announced the ethical principles to be followed in the virtual worlds. These include responsibility, inclusion, data protection, fairness, respect for privacy, reciprocity, autonomy, and authenticity. The authorities said that they will focus on three values: Sustainable prosperity, safe enjoyment, and self-identity.
Earlier this year, a 43-year researcher and a Mother, Nina Jane Patel, were assaulted sexually in Meta’s (formerly Facebook) Horizon Venues. She entered the space for a study, but three male avatars started groping her virtually. This act had a horrendous effect on the female. She says that she had anxiety attacks following the event.
If we really want the metaverse to become a reality, then technical development is not enough. If such events become a regular part of the virtual worlds, then what is the sense of bringing such concepts to life. Females all over the globe are already going through harsh times due to the presence of the bad actors. Such offenders look at them like they haven’t encountered a woman in their life.
The developers and the governments should join forces to issue guidelines to make the digital realm safe. Yes metaverse is a beautiful notion, but acts like these will snatch away the beauty of this splendid notion.
Anurag is working as a fundamental writer for The Coin Republic since 2021. He likes to exercise his curious muscles and research deep into a topic. Though he covers various aspects of the crypto industry, he is quite passionate about the Web3, NFTs, Gaming, and Metaverse, and envisions them as the future of the (digital) economy. A reader & writer at heart, he calls himself an “average guitar player” and a fun footballer.
