Metaverse Rife With Assaults on Females - New Report

WASHINGTON - June 16, 2025 - PRLog -- A new report shows that there is Misogyny in the Metaverse (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jun/10/the-misogyny-of-the-metaverse-is-mark-zuckerbergs-dream-world-a-no-go-area-for-women) and asks Is Mark Zuckerberg's Dream World a No-Go Area for Women? (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jun/10/the-misogyny-of-the-metaverse-is-mark-zuckerbergs-dream-world-a-no-go-area-for-women)

The detailed and graphic report concludes that graphic sexual content, bullying, abuse and threats of violence are rife in the metaverse. (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jun/10/the-misogyny-of-the-metaverse-is-mark-zuckerbergs-dream-world-a-no-go-area-for-women)

One legal expert who has studied the situation is public interest law professor John Banzhaf.  Here's what he reported more than a year ago;

For example, almost a year ago he provided a legal analysis of a very similar situation; a virtual rape in the metaverse:
Groped and Now Raped in the Metaverse, Raped Over the Internet; (https://www.valuewalk.com/groped-and-now-raped-in-the-met...)
All of This Is Actually Happening, And It's Raising Novel Legal Issues (https://www.valuewalk.com/groped-and-now-raped-in-the-metaverse-raped-over-the-internet/)

and more generally he reported that:
Crimes on Internet Are No Longer Just Theoretical; Murder, Rape, Etc. May Be Actionable, Say Experts (https://www.valuewalk.com/crimes-on-internet-no-longer-ju...)

Shortly after the publication of these studies early in 2022, a major legal web site surprised its readers by showing them that:
Lawyers Are Excited About Practicing In The Metaverse (https://abovethelaw.com/2022/04/lawyers-are-excited-about-practicing-in-the-metaverse/?utm_campaign=PLI%20Unprecedented&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=210586729&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9aR7tdwUNzlpCTKoTES0iWa0vkp06NY5Mpsx886NyOdV8KORhcg560x7_4SiDh52kR7fdVcf4Uwo0tzrq4Rz619ss4kg&utm_content=210586729&utm_source=hs_email)

To show that the current alleged rape is nothing new, he notes a headline in USA TODAY (https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2022/01/31/woman-allegedly-groped-metaverse/9278578002/) in February 2022 which reads "Woman Alleges Rape in Virtual World."

More generally, inside increasingly realistic and all encompassing online games, female players are complaining about being groped, says Banzhaf, who was the first to establish copyright protection for computer programs, helped reform U.S. copyright law to deal with computers, authored the first law review article about computers and the law, and may be one of the oldest living hackers.

The Technology Review (https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/12/16/1042516/the-metaverse-has-a-groping-problem/), published by MIT, reported in 2021 that "It's not the first time a user has been groped in VR—nor, unfortunately, will it be the last."

The New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/30/technology/metaverse-harassment-assaults.html), commenting on the problem, explained that "Bad behavior in the metaverse can be more severe than today's online harassment and bullying. That's because virtual reality plunges people into an all-encompassing digital environment where unwanted touches in the digital world can be made to feel real and the sensory experience is heightened."

While many of these vile acts may not violate the criminal laws prohibiting rape or physical sexual assault, they may constitute other crimes and/or sexual harassment, Banzhaf suggested.

Such virtual groping and/or rape might also give rise to a civil law suit, especially if the illusion is very realistic, says Banzhaf, who is known for developing novel legal theories to expand tort law.

The law professor's legal analysis of sex crimes being committed over the Internet was also cited in a legal article (https://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/blog/the-case-of-the-vibrator-that-knew-too-much.html) entitled "The Case of the Vibrator That Knew Too Much."

http://banzhaf.net/   jbanzhaf3ATgmail.com  @profbanzhaf