Pedophiles are abusing children in the metaverse, says British NGO

According to data from the NSPCC, UK police forces recorded eight cases where virtual reality spaces were used for child sexual abuse crimes. 

In the West Midlands municipality alone, the police recorded five cases of abuse within the metaverse. Two other cases occurred in Surrey and one in Warwickshire. According to authorities, one of the crimes allegedly occurred involving Meta's Quest virtual reality headset.

For the NSPCC This is a new dimension for criminals to explore. And if there is not sufficient regulation and supervision, the metaverse can be extremely dangerous for children and adolescents. This happens simply because people enter these environments using their avatars, making it difficult to identify who is on the other side. The person can easily impersonate someone else.

In the last two years there have been more than 30 thousand crimes involving the sharing of indecent images involving children, not necessarily involving virtual reality environments. 

Institution for the protection of children calls on bodies to discuss and create regulations

Finally, the institution appeals to the entities involved to discuss and create regulations to protect children within the virtual environment. Furthermore, the NSPCC advises Meta to create cryptographic systems to prevent grooming and other crimes that could target the most vulnerable users.

NSPCC Executive Chairman Sir Peter Wanless said: “These new figures are incredibly alarming, but they only reflect the tip of the iceberg of what children are experiencing online. It would be inexcusable if five years from now we are still catching up with widespread abuse that has been allowed to proliferate on social media.”

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