Meta is all set to launch a tool to safeguard users against harassment in the metaverse. Although metaverse is gaining popularity among the public, the safety and privacy concerns raised by users are acting like a rather dark cloud, and the company is all set to clear it with its new tool. The tool will help to keep a check on social boundaries since there have been quite a number of times when users have expressed discontent about the safety measures taken to prevent sexual harassment.
The What and Why
The new tool will ensure that the users will not feel that their personal boundaries are violated since it leaves a distance of nearly four feet between the virtual avatar of the user and the others accessing the Horizon Worlds and Horizon Venue apps using virtual reality headsets. With the help of this new tool, users won’t have to worry about unwanted and uncomfortable interactions with others while using the platform. One of the major reasons for the addition of this change is the number of complaints received from users of VR platforms regarding groping and abusive behavior.
Metaverse is a rather important venture to Facebook as the company has made huge investments in virtual and augmented reality to emerge as the leading player in the field. Hence the timely response to the concerns is quite natural since it is important to make sure that the foundation is free of cracks. Facebook’s hopes for this futuristic idea are rather high and only time can tell if they are going to redefine the future for technology users. Meta’s shares saw a notable rise on Thursday up to 26 percent, the biggest single-day spike for a company in the U.S market. The hike was following a forecast issued by Meta in which they blamed the privacy changes of Apple Inc. and rising competition.
The company has been under the radar of lawmakers and regulators around the world for its rather inefficient and ineffective handling of problematic and abusive content on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Some are of the opinion that the name change and the venturing into metaverse is a part of the redemption process for the company. Then again, that is a matter open for debate.
The new tool is built on the existing “hand harassment measures” wherein an avatar’s hand would vanish in case they breach another user’s personal space. In addition to this, the “Safe Zone” feature also facilitates the activation of a bubble around the avatar in case they feel threatened.
