Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Virtual ‘gang rape’ results in new Meta feature

Virtual ‘gang rape’ results in new Meta feature

Social network rolls out personal force field for VR avatars blocking most touch
Meta, formerly Facebook, has added a “personal boundary” system to its Horizon virtual reality platform in response to concerns over virtual harassment. The feature, which creates an invisible and impenetrable force field with an “almost four-foot” radius around individual avatars, will be turned on by default in both the Horizon Worlds creation platform and the Horizon Venues live event host, Meta revealed in a blog post on Friday.

While users can apparently still stretch their arms past the new no-go zone in order to deliver high-fives, fist bumps, and other less intimate forms of greeting, a Meta spokesperson revealed users would not have the option of disabling their personal boundaries even if they wanted to be “groped” or otherwise touched. Users who try to touch others will find their movement blocked, and the would-be recipient of the touch will feel nothing.

According to the blog post, the Metaverse’s grope-proof pods are meant to establish standards for how people interact across all VR platforms. While Meta left the possibility open of eventually being able to customize the size of the no-go zones’ radius, removing touch from the equation may have unexpected negative results for Meta’s popularity.

Given that much of the internet’s evolution has been driven by the porn industry, eliminating physical intimacy from Meta’s version of virtual reality is likely to limit its appeal to certain demographics – no small concern given the company’s recent stock market tribulations.

Horizon Worlds beta tester Nina Jane Patel claimed she was virtually “groped” – an accusation she later leveled up to “gang raped” – after plugging in to the virtual reality platform in November. Within just a minute of signing in, she wrote on her blog at the time, she was set upon by “3 to 4 male avatars, with male voices” who “essentially, but virtually gang raped my avatar and took photos.” She is the only beta tester to go public with such allegations, and has parlayed her notoriety into what she describes as a child-friendly Metaverse equipped with parental controls, called Kabuni.

After investigating the incident, Meta determined that Patel hadn’t taken full advantage of existing isolation features, including a block button – which she admits, arguing it happened too fast for her to even think of “putting the safety barrier in place.” While the company suggested it would make the block button and other options “trivially easy and findable,” this was apparently not sufficient for harassment-proofing the Metaverse. Previous iterations of VR social media platforms have included personal space bubbles as an option that can be turned on and off, but Meta opted not to go that route.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
×