Daily Mail witnesses sexual abuse in Mark Zuckerberg's Horizon Worlds – as gang rape, child grooming and sexual harassment sweep the metaverse

Research into the metaverse has revealed that the digital world is swirling with gang rape, child grooming, and graphic content.

DailyMail.com has witnessed such acts firsthand after spending time in Meta's Horizon Worlds, discovering that it is becoming a haven for people to carry out sexual violence under the guise of their avatar.

We were welcomed into the digital world by a male avatar who approached a woman in a bustling city square, who then started making crude sex noises and hitting her with an umbrella.

The female avatar tried to escape, but the obscene growls increased in volume as she screamed, “Stop it!”

These attacks are carried out by ordinary users, who “hide behind” the anonymity of their avatars, and the number of cases is increasing, says Bernard Marr, technology expert and author of The Future Internet, speaking to Daily Mail.com.

Marr said the lack of laws to punish people for harassment and assault leads people in the metaverse to commit acts they “wouldn't dare in real life.”

“The alarming increase in virtual attacks in the metaverse can be attributed to the lack of specific laws governing these spaces,” he told DailyMail.com.

“Unlike the tangible world, the metaverse currently operates in a legal gray area, where traditional laws about physical interaction do not necessarily apply or are difficult to enforce.

“The lack of specific laws for the metaverse encourages users to take actions they wouldn't dare in real life, taking advantage of the anonymity and immersive nature of the space.”

During DailyMail.com's investigation, we saw avatars running and jumping around as the female fell victim to her male aggressor – not a single avatar acknowledged the situation.

The incident didn't take place in one of Horizon's rooms dedicated to sex and drugs, but in a beginner's world for people new to the game.

Horizon Worlds is designed like a sun-drenched fantasy city, but the energy is like an internet chat room: chaotic and impersonal.

Attacks and harassment are widespread, with the Center for Digital Hate recently finding that harassment of minors by adults is “not uncommon” in Mark Zuckerberg's Horizon Worlds.

The report noted that adult avatars have ejaculated on young girls in the metaverse and threatened to perform sexual acts on users under the age of 15.

Researchers identified 100 potential violations of Meta's policies for VR in 11 hours and 30 minutes of user behavior recordings in the Horizon Worlds app.

Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, said: “When Facebook launched the Metaverse for Oculus, just in time for the holiday shopping season, the CEO promised that privacy and security are at the heart of Virtual Reality.

“But our researchers found that, contrary to its promises, Metaverse is a haven for hate, pornography and child grooming.”

Last month, police investigated the case of a young British girl who was attacked by a gang of young men in virtual reality.

Rapes have also been reported on other “metaverse” platforms such as Roblox, which is used by millions of children.

In June 2018, Amber Petersen's seven-year-old daughter was “violently raped” by two avatars who grabbed her and forced the avatar to participate in simulated sexual acts.

SumOfUs, a non-profit organization, released a report in May 2022 on the problems of hate speech and sexual assault in Horizon Worlds.

The organization's 21-year-old researcher was attacked within an hour of using the platform.

The unnamed researcher said: 'It happened so quickly that I kind of distanced myself from it. Part of my brain was thinking, what's going on, the other part was saying, this isn't a real body, and another part was saying, this is important research.'

Spaces like Horizon Worlds also have areas dedicated to sex and drugs – and minors can access them, according to the Center for Digital Hate.

In Roblox, adults create “condo” rooms for sex games, sharing videos of avatars having sex on porn sites.

Roblox itself bans 'condo' games and cracks down on them when they appear.

A Meta spokesperson emphasized that the researcher had not enabled the Personal Boundary feature – a safety tool that is enabled by default and prevents non-friends from coming within three feet of your avatar.

Meta points out that there are numerous privacy tools built into the Horizon Worlds platform, including options to disable other players' voices.

A spokesperson for Meta said: ''The type of behavior described does not fit our platform. That's why we have an automatic protection for all Meta Horizon Worlds users, the so-called personal boundary, which keeps people you don't know at a few meters distance. You.

“We want everyone who uses our services to have a good experience and easily find the tools that can help prevent these types of situations so we can investigate and take action.”

Attackers in the metaverse feel a “disconnect” between their actions and consequences, Marr says, but the psychological impact on victims can be “profound.”

“The perpetrators of these virtual attacks are often regular users of the metaverse, hiding behind the anonymity and freedom that digital space offers,” Marr said.

This anonymity can lead to a disconnect between actions and consequences, allowing individuals to engage in behavior that is socially unacceptable or criminal in the real world.

“The psychological impact on victims is profound, highlighting the need for accountability in these virtual realms.”

Marr also noted that lawmakers need to address this issue, as do metaverse platforms.

“Addressing these issues in the metaverse is of paramount importance. As technology advances, virtual experiences will become more immersive and indistinguishable from reality,” he continued.

'The psychological effects of virtual attacks, as evidenced by recent incidents, are real and harmful.

'New laws must recognize that virtual actions can cause real psychological damage. This challenges lawmakers to redefine violence in the context of increasingly tangible virtual experiences.

'Lawmakers face the complex task of crafting legislation that addresses physical violence in a non-physical space.

'This requires a paradigm shift in legal thinking, recognizing that psychological harm in the virtual world can be just as impactful as physical harm in the real world.

'Laws must evolve to account for the unique nature of virtual interactions, especially as technology such as haptic suits makes these experiences more physically tangible.

'International cooperation and a multidisciplinary approach are crucial in shaping these new legal frameworks.'