Welcome to CryptoGod-1's blog on all things crypto. Today I am looking at the recent news that the United States Senators have declared Meta (formerly Facebook) creator Mark Zuckerberg should implement a ban on all teenagers using the Metaverse. I will look into exactly what the Senators have said and why they believe such a thing is good or even possible.
U.S. Senators
There are two senators in particular who are pushing this agenda of aiming to ban all teenagers from making use of the Metaverse, or at least out of Meta's Horizon Worlds metaverse anyway. They are Massachusetts Sens. Edward Markey and Richard Blumenthal. The pair wrote an open letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg raising their concerns around reports that the parent company of both Meta and Instagram is looking at opening up its adults-only virtual world to 13 to 17-year-olds.
The Horizon Worlds virtual reality project began in 2022 by has been struggling to attract users thus far, with reports of the project losing more than $13.7 billion so far. The pair look towards what they call Meta's poor record in protecting children on social media in the past, along with "a growing body of evidence pointing to threats to young users in the metaverse." Therefore they are calling on Meta to put a stop to their plans of opening their Metaverse for those below 18 years of age.
This all came about after a report in the Wall Street Journal in February 2023 noted how the company was planning to make the Horizon Worlds Metaverse accessible to youths, with the report claiming that the change is age restrictions could take place as early as March 2023.
When considering how other Metaverse's work, and looking at the two largest blockchain based metaverse's in existence, Decentraland and The Sandbox, they both require their users to be a minimum of 18 years of age. This is due to the fact that the metaverse can hold inappropriate things for minors, such as casinos for gambling and other forms of illicit material. When we then look at non-blockchain based versions of metaverse's, in the form of Roblox and Fortnite, these are both populated by users who are aged 13 years and above. The popularity of the different metaverse's depends on the content within, and the key difference is that the latter two version build their own content instead of being open metaverse's where anybody can build something within it.
Sens Edward Markey (left) and Richard Blumenthal
Dangers of a Metaverse
The pair continued with their claim that the metaverse in general is "an under-researched, potentially dangerous virtual realm." While in parts this is correct, given the use of an open Metaverse world where characters can basically do anything is still a new idea in the grand scheme of things, one could argue the use of open world gaming has been in existence for a long time and therefore it is just a new variant on it. However, the pair are determined in their view that Meta should maintain Horizon World's as an adult only Metaverse.
The underlying reason behind the new push by Meta to expand their market to include teen users is apparently part of a longer term plan to salvage Meta's struggling metaverse practice. The pair claim:
"Any strategy to invite young users into a digital space rife with potential harms should not be driven by a goal to maximize profit."
To be fair to them they are correct in this matter if the only reason Meta are looking at opening their Metaverse for a younger audience is to maximise profits. According to the previously mentioned Wall Street Journal report, other competitors of Meta are doing a better effort at meeting the unique needs of teens and young adults. Meta themselves believe the need to succeed in the space will be determined by serving that cohort first and foremost, as they are the most likely to be strong adopters of new world technology such as Metaverse's.
To date Horizon World's has a poor track record due its lack of uptake. As far back as October 2022 the company's top Metaverse executive called out for more innovation and a "quality lockdown" as it emerged that even Meta's own employees are not fans of using the Horizon World Metaverse.
Zuckerburg shown as a character within his Metaverse Horizon Worlds
European Union Opinion
On the other side of the pond the European Union is taking a somewhat different stance on things. There are fears within the EU that potential monopolies could form around the metaverse technology, as noted by the EU's antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager. During a speech she made on the 2nd of March 2022, Margrethe noted bold action was needed as she said:
"It's already time for us to start asking what healthy competition would look like in the metaverse. We need to anticipate and plan for change, because it is an obvious fact that our enforcement, our legislative processes, will always be slower than market developments."
She went on to state how the equation is changing thanks to the release of innovative products such as language AI models like ChatGPT in a competitive digital market. She went on to state they are working behind the scenes since the regulatory scrutiny of digital markets began roughly three years ago. While she admitted there is a need for overall political debate and understand of the market, she also noted how the some of the antitrust enforcers were more advanced than others. While it is good to see them moving into the direction of educating and understand the space, it can also be quite alarming at the rate of time it takes for them organising bodies to fully grasp the space. However, Vestager does not necessarily see that as a harmful thing. She noted how:
"We are moving at different speeds. We will not get the same legal framework. And maybe that is not a bad thing. Because that will allow us to hone our toolkits in the process of mutual learning."
Either way there are certainly movements within the political spaces towards the new and ever emerging technologies. The authorities will always make an effort to enforce rules and regulation upon these technologies, and when it comes to the likes of Facebook that is likely a good thing. They are not exactly known for being the most ethical company in history and while the market may require teenagers within it to grow, this should definitely be done in a way which ensures their safety along with the safety of the overall market growth.
Have a great day.
CryptoGod-1.
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