Children being Exposed to Explicit Content in Virtual Worlds

The US Federal Trade Commission issued a report last week looking at the incidence of sexually and violently explicit content in online virtual worlds. The comprehensive report, “Virtual Worlds and Kids: Mapping the Risks,” urges operators of virtual worlds to take a number of steps to keep explicit content away from children and teens, and recommends that parents familiarize themselves with the virtual worlds their kids visit.

The report analyzes how easily minors can access explicit content in virtual worlds, and the measures virtual world operators take to prevent minors from viewing it. According to the findings, although little explicit content appeared in child-oriented virtual worlds, a moderate to heavy amount appeared in virtual worlds that are designed for teens and adults.

A good digest of the report can be found on the FTC site, but the following stats give a big cause for concern:

Of the 14 children's virtual worlds studied (by design, open to children under age 13):

• seven contained no explicit content
• six contained a low amount of such content
• 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. Chat which has not been removed by moderation, has not been prevented by either white or black lists, and has potentially been posted by over 13's thanks to lax age-screening techniques by the worlds concerned.

“It is far too easy for children and young teens to access explicit content in some of these virtual worlds,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. “The time is ripe for these companies to grow up and implement better practices to protect kids.”

Things get worse in sites aimed at teens. The Commission observed a greater amount of explicit content in worlds geared towards teens or adults. Twelve of the thirteen virtual worlds in this category contained explicit content, with:

• a heavy amount observed in five worlds
• a moderate amount in three worlds
• a low amount in four worlds.

Half the explicit content found in the teen- and adult-oriented virtual worlds was text-based, while the other half appeared as graphics, occasionally with accompanying audio.

The Commission’s report examined the methods virtual world operators use to prevent minors from accessing explicit content, and drew the cnclusion that much of it was simply inadequate.

The Commission makes five recommendations to virtual world operators to reduce the risk of youth exposure to explicit content:

1. Use more effective age-screening mechanisms to prevent children from registering in adult virtual worlds
2. Use or enhance age-segregation techniques to make sure that people interact only with others in their age group
3. Re-examine language filters to ensure that they detect and eliminate messages that violate rules of behavior in virtual worlds
4. 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
5. Employ a staff of specially trained moderators who are equipped to take swift action against rule violations.

The report recommends that parents and children become better educated about online virtual worlds, and affirms the FTC’s commitment to ensuring that parents have the informationthey need to make informed choices. A consumer alert: 'Virtual Worlds and Kids: Mapping the Risks' is available at www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt038.shtm.



Photo: Like father like Daughter. Andrew Stawarz (flickr)