First arrest for alleged online grooming in metaverse

SPANISH police have arrested an 18-year-old man for alleged online grooming and child pornography offences carried out in the metaverse.

It is the first time someone has been arrested for actions in the metaverse, a variety of online virtual worlds where people can interact via digital avatars.

The suspect, described only as a resident of the Madrid region, is accused of posing as a woman to approach victims on what police called a “popular metaverse application”, and gaining their confidence before asking them for sexual images of their bodies.

Rubén Nido, spokesman for the National Police in Zaragoza, said: “He created an avatar ... pretending to be a 19-year-old bisexual woman.”

Officers from Spain’s Technological Crime Unit in Zaragoza began investigating last May after the parents of an 11-year-old reported that she had been tricked into sharing explicit photos and videos of herself on the unnamed application that had been newly released for use on Android and IOS systems.

The man is accused of multiple counts of corrupting minors and possession and distribution of child pornography, charges he will face in a juvenile court as he was 17 at the time of the offences under investigation. The court has released him from custody while awaiting trial.

Some tech firms in the metaverse market have admitted to difficulties in creating completely safe spaces for children. After a BBC documentary last year showed a reporter registering as a 13-year-old girl with apps on which she experienced sexual harassment, racism and rape jokes, Meta introduced extra security features including a parental block on downloading apps.