Just one week in to his role and new Information Commissioner John Edwards could be heading for his first showdown with Facebook parent company Meta over whether its Oculus Quest 2 VR headset is in breach of the recently launched Children’s Code.
Edwards, who while head of New Zealand’s privacy regulator accused Facebook of being “morally bankrupt pathological liars who enable genocide”, is seeking talks with Meta chiefs over the device.
Child safety campaigners have already warned that the £300 device does not have adequate parental controls and could breach law.
Research by campaign group the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) found multiple incidents of abuse on VRChat, a popular social tool for Oculus users.
In one instance, CCDH found a youngster’s avatar being followed by two heavily breathing men. In another case, a male reportedly joked in front of an under-18 that he was a convicted sex offender.
One of the key architect of the Children’s Code Baroness Beeban Kidron has reportedly said she is concerned the Oculus platform has made it too easy for children to expose themselves to abuse, harassment, and sexual content.
Kidron insists that while Meta asks its VR users to use a Facebook account, that does not necessarily mean the company is also implementing the Code’s age checks. Children can enter potentially harmful VR chatrooms simply by ticking a check box to say they are old enough.
The ICO wants to know if Meta’s VR headsets and services offer enough measures to protect children’s privacy and data.
An ICO spokesperson said: “Online services and products that use personal data and are likely to be accessed by children are required to comply with the standards of our children’s code.
“We are planning further discussions with Meta on its children’s privacy and data-protection-by-design approaches to Oculus products and virtual reality services. Parents and children who have concerns about how their data is being handled can complain to us at the ICO.”
A Meta spokesman told The Guardian that the company was committed to honouring the ICO’s rules, and was confident that its VR technology satisfies the code’s requirements.
Meta says it is committed to a $50m (£37m) initiative to ensure that its metaverse development complies with all applicable laws and regulations.
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