It wasn’t that long ago that Facebook, now known pretentiously as “Meta,” took an ironclad position on banning porn in the metaverse. Because like all things Facebook, they must censor content as a way to protect our personal safety. You’re simply not responsible enough to handle some anime nudity in a non-existent, digital world.
Thanks Facebook.
Also, no thanks at all.
Since Facebook changed it’s name to reflect a global mission to walk us all off the planks of our realities, they’ve taken a lot of heat, including by Amazon executives who made fun of them. But its there lambasting of adult content on the Metaverse that might be the most laughable given people will just tour other meta-worlds.
But now, unsurprisingly, it seems Facebook is loosening it’s previous stern omission of adult content inside of Meta. Because, they probably realized that they changed their name and invested millions in a digital virtual reality world that may crumble because people exodus after they figure out they can’t fondle one another.
Now Facebook’s parent company, Meta, says it’s coming out with a rating system. And this is how that works.
When you create a world, you must rate is as Mature, or not. If you do nothing, it automatically defaults to mature.
Now, what is “meta mature?”
Great question, and we are happy you asked.
First, it doesn’t mean carte blanche porn gaming. Instead, it means “near nudity, suggestive positions, and sexually suggestive content.”
So not quite metaverse porn, but this latest move suggest that Facebook is, indeed, concerned about people flocking to competing metaverses to find some smut.
This move is one of near desperation by Facebook to preserve its dying interest in all things metaverse. People understand they can use Sandbox or Decentraland currently and hang out with celebs. Does Facebook’s Meta even meta right now? I couldn’t tell you.
Without adult content present, one has to envision Facebook’s Meta as a place where people endlessly fight over politics. Because, that’s what Facebook was reduced to years ago. And it will be the same crowd. Maybe Facebook is now seeing the light that a little perverse content might not be a bad way to break things up.
In the end, porn will find its way into the metaverse whether Facebook likes it or not. So the thought of losing millions because they refuse to allow any semblance of it probably doesn’t sit well with board members. Does this mean Facebook Meta will eventually allow full on porn? Probably not, at least, yet. But it shows they are cracking a bit due to the anxiety of Meta failure.