Children can easily get access to Metaverse strip clubs, investigation reveals

An investigation by the BBC has revealed a shocking possibility that children may get access to strip clubs on Metaverse, touted to be 'future of internet' by Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg. UK's National Society for the Prevention of Crtuelty to Children (NSPCC) has reacted sharply to this.

As per the BBC report, a researcher working with the media corporation, posed as a 13-year-old on a Metaverse app VRChat. The app had minimum age rating of 13 years. The researcher, using the avatar she had created, was able to visit virtual reality rooms where avatars used by other people were simulating sex. She was reportedly shown condoms, sex toys and was approached by adult men.

The VRChat app on the platform has virtual rooms where people can meet. Some such rooms are innocent enough, like restaurants. But there are also the ones which have strippers and pole dance.

As per the BBC, the researcher was told by a man that avatars can "get naked and do unspeakable things". Others talked about "erotic role-play".

"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," said an official of the NSPCC told BBC.