Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, recently announced plans to open up its virtual reality social platform, Horizon Workrooms, to teens 13 and older as well. The decision has sparked a heated debate on the implications for safety and child protection within virtual environments. In this article, we’ll explore the controversy, the steps taken by Meta, and the challenges this expansion could bring.

Horizon Workrooms: what it is and why the controversy

Horizon Workrooms is a virtual reality platform created by Meta to offer an immersive and interactive social experience. Users can create and customize avatars, interact with other users and collaborate in three-dimensional environments. Until now, access to the platform was reserved for adults, but Meta has decided to broaden the user base to include teenagers aged 13 and over.

This choice has raised numerous concerns regarding the safety of young users within a virtual environment. The main concerns relate to cyberbullying, invasion of privacy, exposure to inappropriate content and the difficulty of effectively monitoring and moderating virtual environments.

The measures adopted by Meta

To respond to the concerns that have emerged, Meta has announced the introduction of a series of measures to protect the safety of teenagers on the platform. Among these measures:

• Content Moderation: Meta is committed to closely monitoring content posted on the platform to ensure it is appropriate and compliant with guidelines.
• Content Moderation: Meta is committed to closely monitoring content posted on the platform to ensure it is appropriate and compliant with guidelines.
• Blocking and Reporting: Teens will have the ability to block and report users or content they deem inappropriate.
• “Teen Only” Areas: Meta will introduce areas reserved only for teenage users, inaccessible to adults, to provide a safe environment in which to interact.

Despite the announced measures, many experts believe that they are not enough to ensure the safety of young users. One of the main challenges is moderating virtual environments, considering that the immersive and interactive nature of Horizon Workrooms makes it difficult to monitor and evaluate content.

Furthermore, there is concern about the effects that prolonged use of virtual reality may have on the psychological well-being of adolescents. Some studies have highlighted the risks of isolation