Avoid Avatar Harassment, Meta Set Personal Limit In Metaverse

The harassment of avatars that started to bloom in the metaverse is now trying to be avoided by Facebook. (photo; pixabay doc)

JAKARTA - Meta Platforms Inc., parent company of Facebook said on Friday, February 4 that it will launch a tool for people who use its virtual reality social platform to defend the boundaries of personal space. This was done, as concerns have been raised about user safety and sexual harassment in the metaverse.

Its new “personal boundaries” tool will make users feel like they have nearly four feet (1.2 meters) between their virtual avatar and another when they access the immersive Horizon Worlds and Horizon Venues apps via a VR headset.

The company said in a blog post that these new default settings will make it easier for users to avoid unwanted interactions. The change comes as users of VR platforms including Horizon Worlds have raised alarms about attempted virtual groping and other abusive behavior.

Facebook Inc, which changed its name to Meta Platform Inc in 2021, and has invested heavily in virtual and augmented reality to reflect its new bet on the metaverse, a futuristic idea of a network of virtual environments accessed via different devices where users can work, socialize, and share. play.

Horizon Worlds, an expansive VR social platform, and Horizon Venues, which focuses on virtual events, are early iterations of the metaverse-like space.

Shares of Meta, which have poured billions of dollars into its metaverse ambitions, plunged 26% on Thursday in the biggest one-day drop in market value for the US company. This comes after the social media giant issued dismal forecasts, as well as "blaming" Apple Inc for privacy changes and increased competition.

The Meta Platform has long been under scrutiny from lawmakers and global regulators over its handling of problematic and infringing content on existing social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

Meta says the new tool builds on the current "hand harassment act", where an avatar's hand will disappear if they invade someone's personal space. It also currently has a "Safe Zone" feature where people can activate a bubble around their avatar if they feel threatened.

As reported by Reuters, Meta Horizon's vice president, Vivek Sharma, said on a blog that the company believes the new personal boundaries will help set "norms of behavior."

"This is an important step, and there is still a lot of work to be done. We will continue to test and explore new ways to help people feel comfortable in VR," Sharma said, as quoted by Reuters.

He said in the future, Meta will look into the possibility of adding controls such as letting people resize their personal limits.

For now, the company notes that users will have to "reach out their hands to be able to high-five or punch other people's avatars."