https://sputnikglobe.com/20230302/us-democratic-senators-urge-meta-not-to-release-metaverse-app-to-teens-1107958366.html
US Democratic Senators Urge Meta Not to Release Metaverse App to Teens
US Democratic Senators Urge Meta Not to Release Metaverse App to Teens
Sputnik International
US Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal on Thursday called on Meta* not to open its metaverse application up to teenagers in the United States.
2023-03-02T18:58+0000
2023-03-02T18:58+0000
2024-09-18T09:37+0000
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Markey and Blumenthal urged Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg to halt company plans of involving children age 13-17 in the company’s Horizon Worlds metaverse application. Meta has said it plans to open the application to teenagers sometime in March, according to the media reports. The senators said Meta has previously failed to prevent teenagers from tobacco and alcohol advertisements and noted that another company’s application geared toward younger children allowed them to avoid age restrictions and communicate with strangers. Meta launched Horizon Worlds to the public in December 2021 and there are about 200,000 active users, according to media reports.*Meta is outlawed as an extremist organization in Russia.
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US Democratic Senators Urge Meta Not to Release Metaverse App to Teens
18:58 GMT 02.03.2023 (Updated: 09:37 GMT 18.09.2024) WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal on Thursday called on Meta* not to open its metaverse application up to American teenagers.
"Meta has failed over and over to protect young users. They've lost the trust of parents, pediatricians, policymakers and the public. Now, they want to bring more kids as young as 13 onto the metaverse without ensuring their safety. They have to stop," Markey said via Twitter.
Markey and Blumenthal urged Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg to halt company plans of involving children age 13-17 in the company’s Horizon Worlds metaverse application.
"In light of your company’s record of failure to protect children and teens and a growing body of evidence pointing to threats to young users in the metaverse, we urge you to halt this plan immediately," the senators said in a letter to Meta obtained by the Wall Street Journal.
Meta has said it plans to open the application to teenagers sometime in March, according to the media reports.
The senators said Meta has previously failed to prevent teenagers from tobacco and alcohol advertisements and noted that another company’s application geared toward younger children allowed them to avoid age restrictions and communicate with strangers.
"With a documented record of failure to protect children and teens, Meta has lost parents’, pediatricians’, policymakers’ and the public’s trust," the senators said.
Meta launched Horizon Worlds to the public in December 2021 and there are about 200,000 active users, according to media reports.
*Meta is outlawed as an extremist organization in Russia.
