Unsafe Content Increasing in Virtual Worlds
Late last year, Sony changed its Terms of Service so it could better regulate and censor content in its virtual worlds. There were some who applauded this move, arguing that unwanted sexual content had begun to flourish in these places and Sony had to step in to police it. "In most cases, we're on the side on free speech, but here's why PS3 speech-oversight is a good idea," wrote Silicon Alley Insider. "User-generated content is coming to the PS3 via 'Home,' a virtual domicile Sony users can decorate as they wish, and 'LittleBigPlanet,' a platforming game where gamers can create and share objects and levels. And where there's user-generated content, there's always sex." A new report out this week from the FTC confirms that this is a persistent problem across several virtual worlds. Congressionally mandated, the report analyzed "how easily minors can access explicit content in virtual worlds, and the measures virtual world operators take to prevent minors from viewing it." For the report, the FTC surveyed 27 virtual worlds targeted towards a variety of age groups, including some designed for children under 13.
The FTC found at least one instance of either sexually or violently explicit content in 19 of the 27 worlds. The FTC observed a heavy amount of explicit content in five of the virtual worlds studied, a moderate amount in four worlds, and only a low amount in the remaining 10 worlds in which explicit content was found. Of the 14 virtual worlds in the FTC’s study that were, by design, open to children under age 13, seven contained no explicit content, six contained a low amount of such content, and one contained a moderate amount. Almost all of the explicit content found in the child-oriented virtual worlds appeared in the form of text posted in chat rooms, on message boards, or in discussion forums.
As we've seen with other popular online destinations, it becomes apparent that these virtual worlds need to create more effective age screening techniques to ensure that adults aren't entering spaces intended for children and targeting them with sexually explicit material. This is just one of several recommendations the FTC gives in its report:
* Use more effective age-screening mechanisms to prevent children from registering in adult virtual worlds; * Use or enhance age-segregation techniques to make sure that people interact only with others in their age group; * Re-examine language filters to ensure that they detect and eliminate messages that violate rules of behavior in virtual worlds; * Provide more guidance to community enforcers in virtual worlds so they are better able to review and rate virtual world content, report potential underage users, and report any users who appear to be violating rules of behavior; and * Employ a staff of specially trained moderators who are equipped to take swift action against rule violations.
To read the full report, visit here.