British police recently launched an investigation into possible “virtual rape” after a girl's avatar was “attacked” by a group of men while playing a video game in the Metaverse. daily mail It was first reported on Monday.
Metaverse users can wear virtual reality headsets to immerse themselves in gaming, fitness, entertainment, social experiences, and connect with others around the world.
The child was reportedly under the age of 16 and was in an online “room” when several adult male users approached her digital character. Because the incident occurred in the Metaverse, the girl was not physically attacked by a group of strangers online. However, officers reportedly compared the girl's psychological and emotional trauma to that of an actual rape victim.
An official familiar with the case told the Daily Mail: “This child experienced the same psychological trauma as someone who has been physically raped.・It has a psychological impact.”
The official added: “It poses a number of challenges for law enforcement given that current legislation is not in place for this.”
A number of virtual sexual assaults have been reported in Horizon Worlds, a free video game created by Meta Platforms that allows users to create their own avatars. One police officer told the Daily Mail that sexual crimes are “rampant” in the Metaverse.
The case is thought to be the first time British authorities have investigated a de facto sex crime. Due to limited police resources, authorities are struggling to keep track of the actual backlog of rape cases, the Daily Mail reported. The announcement of the investigation raised questions about whether law enforcement should investigate hypothetical crimes.
Ian Critchley, from the National Police Chiefs' Council, told the Daily Mail that the Metaverse is “creating a gateway for predators to commit horrific crimes against children”.
“We know that criminal grooming and criminal behavior tactics are constantly evolving, which is why our collective fight against predators like this one is vital to ensuring that young people are protected online.” Critchley continued: “That's why our policing approach must continually evolve to relentlessly pursue predators and protect victims across all online spaces.”
National Crime Agency Commissioner Graham Biggar said: evening standard The bureau is said to be considering how to crack down on crimes in the Metaverse.
“There's a lot of crime in the real world that we have to deal with, so it's not that it dominates our thinking, but when you're in the metaverse wearing a haptic suit, you can see what's going on. you can feel what [you] And even if you're not wearing a haptic suit, you're going to be sexually assaulted, raped, and murdered, is that okay? ” asked Mr. Biggar.
Bigger explained that a person wearing a haptic suit would “feel the physical signs of rape or murder.”
“The kind of behavior described will not be tolerated on our platform, which is why we're asking all of our users to keep strangers a few feet away from you,” Mehta told the Daily Mail. It has an automatic protection feature called Personal Boundaries.”
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