Key Takeaways:
-
Metaverse technologies, including AI and immersive platforms, are becoming more accessible, powerful, and affordable, with minimal legal or policy restrictions.
-
Both metaverse and non-metaverse platforms are already being used to target and exploit children.
-
A lack of legal definitions and frameworks for metaverse-based crimes complicates investigations and prosecutions.
-
As the metaverse expands, so will the potential for its misuse in child exploitation and related criminal activity.
In a report from RAND, part of a broader series analyzing the impact of emerging technologies on U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) missions and capabilities, researchers developed a methodology to assess technologies and their associated risks within a homeland security context. The goal is to help DHS better understand emerging technologies and the threats they may pose.
The RAND report specifically explores how the metaverse could impact digital crimes involving the targeting and exploitation of children. These crimes are already occurring and have endangered numerous victims and families. In immersive environments like the metaverse, the opportunities for such exploitation may increase.
RAND’s Homeland Security Research Division conducted the research for this report, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate.
(AI was used in part to facilitate this article.)
