Two US Senators have penned a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, asking him to abandon plans to offer the company’s metaverse platform, Horizon Worlds, to young adults.
In the letter dated March 1, Senators Edward Markey and Richard Blumenthal stated that they were opposed to Facebook’s reported plan to “invite young users into a digital space rife with potential harms,” particularly if it was driven by profit. The two legislators had allowed teenagers aged 13-17 years old to access the virtual environment.
“Meta’s plan to target young people with offerings in the metaverse is particularly concerning in light of your consistent failures to protect young users,” Markey and Blumenthal wrote to Zuckerberg. “With a documented track record of failure to protect children and teens, Meta has lost parents’, pediatricians’, and legislators’ trust.” Citing concerns about privacy, eye strain, online bullying, and other risks, they urged Zuckerberg not to proceed.
A U.S. lawmaker has voiced concerns to the CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, over the potential risks of launching a metaverse to teenagers.
In a joint letter written by Senators Edward Markey and Richard Blumenthal, they warned of the potential mental health risks that may come with the new virtual world.
The letter read: “As our constituents grow increasingly concerned about the effects of online platforms and social media apps on teens’ well-being, your plans to imminently pull these young people into an under-researched, potentially dangerous virtual realm with consequences for their physical and mental health is unacceptable.”
The senators cited reports of Instagram being linked to teenagers having suicidal thoughts, as well as the firm’s inability to stop ads for “tobacco, alcohol and eating disorder content” targeting young adults.
Markey, a junior senator from Massachusetts, has endorsed legislation to reduce the environmental impact of crypto-mining and asked mining companies to answer data collection questions. Blumenthal was behind a bill in the last U.S. Congress that allowed third-party apps to be installed on devices released by major tech companies.