Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, plans to lower the recommended age for using its Quest headphones from 13 to 10 years old, the company said in a statement. blog post on Friday, a move that could trigger new privacy and security concerns with parents and global watchdogs.
The company is discussing its plans with regulators, two people familiar with the Meta talks said, and is trying to allay immediate concerns that younger children wearing the headphones could be subject to greater risk.
Meta said it would require parental approval of a tween to set up an account, and that young users would only see apps and content rated for the tween age group. Quest headsets allow people to enter the so-called metaverse, an immersive online world, and play virtual reality games and perform other tasks.
Over the past year, Meta has been slowly lowering the age restrictions for its VR apps to reach younger audiences. In April, the company said it would allow people under the age of 18 to use Horizon Worlds, Meta’s virtual reality-based social network. Horizon Worlds se stay restricted to users over the age of 13, as previously reported by The Verge.
The use of technology by adolescents and children has long been a contentious issue. Last month, the United States Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, issued a public warning about the risks of social media for young people, urging a push for full understanding of the potential “harm to mental health and well-being.” of children and adolescents”. .”
Virtual reality is a relatively new technological field, and its risks are still emerging. But harassment, assaults, intimidation and hate speech are already rampant in virtual reality games, which are part of the metaverse, and few mechanisms exist to easily report bad behavior, the researchers said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
