This week, a coalition of more than 70 children’s advocacy groups wrote a letter to Facebook imploring the company not to follow through on its plans to open its Metaverse platform to children as young as 13. According to these experts, not enough research has been done on the potential effects this could have on children, though a preliminary study found minors being subjected to abuse from adults in the virtual space.

“It’s beyond appalling that Mark Zuckerberg wants to save his failing… platform by targeting teens,” said Josh Golin, an executive director for one of the advocacy groups. “Already, children are being exposed to homophobia, racism, sexism, and other reprehensible content.”

In what’s become a common criticism of the social media giant, another of the group’s leaders accused Facebook of putting the bottom line before its young users.

“They have prioritized profit over safety in their design of the product, failed to provide meaningful transparency, and refused to take responsibility for ensuring worlds are safe, especially for children,” added Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate.

At the very least, Facebook should follow these groups’ suggestions to do more research and fully understand the potential ramifications of allowing children into the Metaverse. However, the company is desperate to make its virtual world work, so the chances that it takes a pause to better protect kids may be slim.

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