Internet: when violence invites itself into the metaverse

“Security must be considered in the construction of the metaverse from day one”, claimed Mark Zuckerberg when presenting the new major project of the Facebook group, which became Meta. However, the first steps of these persistent virtual universes, presented as the future face of the Internet by 2030, have been the scene of disturbing scenes. On Horizon Worlds, a virtual reality world designed by Meta, women have complained of being assaulted by male users. The latter mimed sexual acts, insulted them and prevented their avatars from fleeing. “When I told him to stop he shrugged as if to say ‘I’m in the metaverse, I do what I want’“says a user in the New York Times.

Insults, racism, harassment, threats… The American association Center for Countering Digital Hate was able to observe in the space of a day a hundred reprehensible acts on Horizon Worlds, which doesn’t work…