An undercover reporter posing as a 13-year-old has been able to go into virtual strip clubs and see simulated sex. Youngsters can 'get...
An undercover reporter posing as a 13-year-old has been able to go into virtual strip clubs and see simulated sex.
Youngsters can 'get naked and do unspeakable things' or take part in 'erotic role-play' in the apps, users said.
They are able to watch pole-dancing and mix freely with adults, which has led to grooming, racism and rape threats.
The Children's Commissioner for England called on tech firms to 'get a moral compass' and crack down on the virtual world.
Dame Rachel de Souza said she was 'really horrified' by what she saw and was livid companies had not built the 3D worlds safely.
Children as young as 13 have been going to virtual strip clubs (pictured) and seeing simulated sex
Youngsters can 'get naked and do unspeakable things' or take part in 'erotic role-play' in the apps (pictured)
An investigation by the BBC found grooming, sexual material, racist insults and rape threats were prevalent in one app.
A researcher, pretending to be 13, went into rooms where avatars were having simulated sex - with toys and condoms - before she was approached.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg believes the virtual world is the future and launched the Oculus Quest headset, now called the Meta Quest.
The technology, which makes up 75 per cent of the market, was one of those used by the BBC journalist to explore the VRChat app. Meta's version is called Horizon.
VRChat is not made by Meta but can be downloaded from Facebook's Meta Quest headset app store without any age restriction.
The name refers to online spaces where people using virtual reality headsets access games, but they can also meet others for work and social experiences.
Child safety campaigners slammed tech companies and called on them to make the virtual world safer.
Dame Rachel de Souza said she was 'really horrified' by the BBC report and the NSPCC called for urgent improvements.
Dame Rachel said firms are still not doing enough to make these online spaces safer for children.
She criticised Meta for what she said appeared to be a failure to build virtual reality with a safety by design approach.
She said: 'I'm really concerned that Meta hasn't made their metaverse safe by design - we have an Age Appropriate Design Code - and I expected better of them.
The Children's Commissioner for England called on tech firms to 'get a moral compass' and crack down on the virtual world (file photo)
Dame Rachel de Souza (pictured) said she was 'really horrified' by what she saw and was livid companies had not build the 3D worlds safely
'Are you telling me that Mark Zuckerberg, with all his fantastic engineers and ability to create this, can't keep children safe?
'That's my challenge to the social media companies and they should be stepping up now.'
The Children's Commissioner also said she wants to see more age verification tools used to help keep children safe online.
Earlier this month, the Government announced websites publishing porn will be legally required to verify the age of their users under the Online Safety Bill.
But the commissioner today suggested she would like to see 'age gates' used more broadly.
She said: 'I've been bringing the tech companies in to meet with me to get them to act more quickly and ensure that children can be safe online - they need to be as safe online as they are offline - and if I was a parent watching this, I'd be really worried.'
She said young people have told her they have encountered inappropriate content online.
She added: 'That's why I'm arguing for age verification, so that children are only getting age-appropriate experiences, that's got to be embedded in this.
'But in terms of the (social media) companies, they need to do more, they need to step up.
'We're constantly pushing them on this, the legislation hopefully will make a real difference.
'We'll have proper age gates and force these companies to only give age-appropriate material to children.
'They know how old they are - they're so advanced - they know our children and they need a moral compass here.'
Head of online child safety policy at the NSPCC Andy Burrows said there was 'a toxic combination of risks'.
He said: 'This is a product that is dangerous by design, because of oversight and neglect.
'We are seeing products rolled out without any suggestion that safety has been considered.'
Bill Stillwell, Product Manager, VR Integrity at Meta, said: 'We want everyone using our products to have a good experience and easily find the tools that can help in situations like these, so we can investigate and take action.
'In Meta apps like Horizon Venues users can mute, block and report others, and we recently introduced a Personal Boundary to help avoid unwanted interactions.
'For cross-platform apps that have users connecting from other platforms, mobile phones or consoles, we provide tools that allow Quest players to report and block users.
'We will continue to make improvements as we learn more about how people interact in these spaces.'
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