{"id":453843,"date":"2022-05-27T21:23:33","date_gmt":"2022-05-27T18:23:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/women-are-being-sexually-assaulted-in-the-metaverse\/"},"modified":"2022-05-27T21:23:33","modified_gmt":"2022-05-27T18:23:33","slug":"women-are-being-sexually-assaulted-in-the-metaverse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/women-are-being-sexually-assaulted-in-the-metaverse\/","title":{"rendered":"#Women are being sexually assaulted in the Metaverse"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a418d97cd0f5\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a418d97cd0f5\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/women-are-being-sexually-assaulted-in-the-metaverse\/#%E2%80%9CWomen_are_being_sexually_assaulted_in_the_Metaverse%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Women are being sexually assaulted in the Metaverse&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CWomen_are_being_sexually_assaulted_in_the_Metaverse%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Women are being sexually assaulted in the Metaverse&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Disturbing accounts of women being sexually assaulted and harassed in the metaverse are racking up, according to online watchdogs.<\/p>\n<p>One 21-year-old woman says she was raped within one hour of being in the metaverse, according to a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sumofus.org\/images\/Metaverse_report_May_2022.pdf\">a new report from SumOfUs<\/a>, a \u201cnonprofit advocacy organization and online community that campaigns to hold corporations accountable\u201d for a variety of alleged infractions.<\/p>\n<p>The report \u2014 titled \u201cMetaverse: another cesspool of toxic content\u201d \u2014 takes a deep dive into allegations of a woman being \u201cvirtually gang raped,\u201d hate speech and content moderation issues at Meta, the controversial rebrand of <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> Inc<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/companies\/FB.O\">.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The young woman, who works as a researcher for the group\u201a was led into a private room at a party on \u201cHorizon Worlds,\u201d a metaverse platform released by Meta last December in the US and Canada that allows users to gather with others, play <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>s and build their own virtual worlds. <\/p>\n<p>She has claimed her avatar was then raped by a user while another watched and passed around a virtual bottle of vodka \u2014\u00a0and others could be seen watching through a window. <\/p>\n<p>In a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1558CIk75YtKrfNvJvQWkReG6VmxPpa81\/view\">chilling video clip released by SumOfUs<\/a>, one avatar is recorded saying, \u201cCheck this out. It\u2019s a free show. Oh, getting it. Getting down with that gritty, ya heard.\u201d Meanwhile, the bystander avatar responds with, \u201cYou\u2019re gonna need more of this, shorty,\u201d while passing the virtual booze bottle around. \u201cHey a free show!\u201d the avatar is then heard shouting. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/meta-avatars-sexual-assault-feat-image.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Another user watched while aa young woman was raped in the metaverse\" class=\"wp-image-22438994\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/meta-avatars-sexual-assault-feat-image.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/meta-avatars-sexual-assault-feat-image.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/meta-avatars-sexual-assault-feat-image.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>A 21-year-old woman\u2019s avatar was raped within an hour of logging into the metaverse. It was one of many reports of sexual harassment and assault in the VR universe. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">SumOfUs \/ Horizon Worlds<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/meta-avatars-sexual-assault-07.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"A user guided a young woman into a private room during a party in the metaverse where he raped her\" class=\"wp-image-22439018\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/meta-avatars-sexual-assault-07.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/meta-avatars-sexual-assault-07.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/meta-avatars-sexual-assault-07.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>She reported the attack as being \u201cdisorienting\u201d as the man raped her in the VR world and another watched and cheered him on while passing around a virtual bottle of vodka. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">SumOfUs \/ Horizon Worlds<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n    <\/aside>\n<p>When a user is touched by another in the metaverse, the hand controllers vibrate, \u201ccreating a very disorienting and even disturbing physical experience during a virtual assault.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ened so fast I kind of disassociated. One part of my brain was like \u2018WTF is happening,\u2019 the other part was like \u2018this isn\u2019t a real body,\u2019 and another part was like, \u2018this is important research,\u2019 \u201d the unnamed researcher said in the report. <\/p>\n<p>The watchdog also noted that \u201cVR users have long reported problems with sexual harassment, verbal abuse, racial slurs and invasion of personal space on a myriad of apps.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cMinimal moderation\u201d in these VR worlds has allowed concerning behavior to \u201cthrive . . . especially towards female-appearing and female-sounding avatars.\u201d <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"621\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/meta-avatars-sexual-assault-16.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks during a live-streamed virtual and augmented reality conference to announce the rebrand of Facebook as Meta\" class=\"wp-image-22439051\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/meta-avatars-sexual-assault-16.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/meta-avatars-sexual-assault-16.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/meta-avatars-sexual-assault-16.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has been expanding into the metaverse in recent months, but reports say that the virtual reality universe is highly unregulated. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">VIA REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has waged a high-profile push to shift his company into the metaverse, a fully digital VR environment accessible through headsets or similar <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>When confronted with the horrific attack that took place in the metaverse, a Meta spokesperson noted that the researcher had turned off the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oculus.com\/blog\/introducing-a-personal-boundary-for-horizon-worlds-and-venues\/\">Personal Boundary feature<\/a>. <\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n    <\/aside>\n<p>The feature was launched in February as a safety tool that\u2019s turned on by default and prevents non-friends from coming within 4 feet of your avatar.<\/p>\n<p>Reps for Meta did not immediately respond to The Post\u2019s request for comment, but a spokesperson for the company told the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sciencetech\/article-10857551\/Woman-21-virtually-RAPED-stranger-Metas-metaverse-app-report-claims.html?ns_mchannel=rss&amp;ns_campaign=1490&amp;ito=1490\">Daily Mail<\/a>: \u201cWe don\u2019t recommend turning off the safety feature with people you do not know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They also noted several other safety tools intended to help people stay safe while in VR environments, including <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/store.facebook.com\/help\/quest\/articles\/horizon\/explore-horizon-worlds\/\">the Safe Zone button<\/a>, which allows users to block people who are bothering you and report them or certain inappropriate content. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want everyone using our products to have a good experience and easily find the tools that can help in situations like these, so we can investigate and take action,\u201d the Meta spokesperson added.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"566\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/meta-avatars-sexual-assault-12.jpeg?w=1024\" alt=\"Avatars hanging out in the metaverse \" class=\"wp-image-22439227\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/meta-avatars-sexual-assault-12.jpeg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/meta-avatars-sexual-assault-12.jpeg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/meta-avatars-sexual-assault-12.jpeg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>The metaverse refers to shared virtual world environments which people can access via the internet or VR technology to interact with other users from across the world. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">SumOfUs \/ Horizon Worlds<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The SumOfUs report also listed other cases of sexual harassment that have occurred in the metaverse. <\/p>\n<p>An anonymous beta tester for \u201cHorizon Worlds\u201d filed a complaint with the app claiming that her \u201cavatar had been groped by a stranger.\u201d <\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n    <\/aside>\n<p>In 2021, co-founder and VP of metaverse research at Kabuni\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/kabuni\/fiction-vs-non-fiction-98aa0098f3b0\">Nina Jane Patel shared her experience<\/a> of being \u201cverbally and sexually harassed\u201d within 60 seconds of logging onto \u201cHorizon Worlds.\u201d She reported that three to four male avatars \u201cvirtually gang raped\u201d her and took photos shouting crude remarks. <\/p>\n<p>Logging into the \u201cPopulation One\u201d app, which is owned by Meta, Chanelle Siggens reported being approached by another player, who then \u201csimulated groping and ejaculating onto her avatar.\u201d Another \u201cPopulation One\u201d user, Mari DeGrazia, reported witnessing harassment more than three times per week while in the app. DeGrazia also experienced abuse herself while wearing a VR vest, when \u201canother player groped her avatar\u2019s chest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While exploring the metaverse logged into \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/venturebeat.com\/2020\/06\/22\/facebook-acquires-lone-echo-vr-game-maker-ready-at-dawn\/\">Lone Echo VR,\u201d another app owned by Meta<\/a>, Sydney Smith encountered \u201clewd, sexist remarks\u201d as another player claimed to have \u201crecorded her [voice]\u201d in order to \u201cjerk off.\u201d After the troubling incident, Smith described having difficulty reporting the player in the game. <\/p>\n<p>SumOfUs stated that the harassment and assaults are not isolated to Meta-owned apps but noted that many of the apps are accessible through the Meta Oculus Quest headset. <\/p>\n<p>The report noted three key measures that should be taken to regulate the VR universe. <\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n    <\/aside>\n<ul>\n<li>First, according to the report, \u201cregulators must address the predatory, anticompetitive practices of Mark Zuckerberg.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Second, it is \u201calarming that, to this day, the US has no adequate data protection laws to safeguard consumers against abusive data harvesting practices across platforms, allowing companies like Meta to sell data to 3rd parties with little oversight.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Third, as the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu\/en\/policies\/digital-services-act-package\">Digital Services Act (DSA) <\/a>gets written into law in Europe, other world governments \u201cmust use this landmark legislation as a blueprint for how to regulate Big Tech companies in their own jurisdictions.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Another report found that incidents of sexual harassment and assault in the metaverse are commonly met with \u201cdismissive, abusive and misogynistic\u201d responses, according to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/2021\/12\/16\/1042516\/the-metaverse-has-a-groping-problem\/\">MIT Technology Review<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>However, on a larger scale, the majority of American adults agree that online harassment is a problem, with 41% saying they have experienced some form of harassment in digital spaces, a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/internet\/2021\/01\/13\/the-state-of-online-harassment\/#:~:text=There%20has%20also%20been%20a,on%20the%20rise%20as%20well.\">Pew Research<\/a> study found. <\/p>\n<p>Jesse Fox, an associate professor at Ohio State University who researches the social implications of virtual reality, told the MIT outlet, \u201cPeople should keep in mind that sexual harassment has never had to be a physical thing. It can be verbal, and yes, it can be a virtual experience as well.\u201d\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/05\/27\/women-are-being-sexually-assaulted-in-the-metaverse\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Women are being sexually assaulted in the Metaverse&#8221; Disturbing accounts of women being sexually assaulted and harassed in the metaverse are racking up, according to online watchdogs. One 21-year-old woman says she was raped within one hour of being in the metaverse, according to a a new report from SumOfUs, a \u201cnonprofit advocacy organization and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":453844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/meta-avatars-sexual-assault-comp-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[122306,129681,89086,73118,71895],"class_list":["post-453843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-meta","tag-5-27-22","tag-online","tag-rape","tag-sexual-assaults"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/453844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}