Essay

Courtney Love
S2676870
New Communication Technologies
Tute: Thursday 9-11 am Chris. M.

Age Verification within Virtual Worlds and Online Predators

Second Life is the online community that has revolutionized the concept of ‘virtual worlds’. The following essay will explore the growing phenomenon of Second Life and the associated risks that accompany this new online territory. As with any new form of media, issues unique to these technological products arise that society may not have encountered before; such as the instance of Second Life. Online communities face a variety of problems similar to those of real life, however the added component of the internet can make these issues hard to address. In particular these issues include ‘in world’ or online age verification and child protection from internet predators. These themes will be explored through the example of the ‘Wonderland Scandal’ that broke in 2007.

Since the launch of Second Life in 2003, the websites number of users has grown from a modest 1000 to a reported 2 million members (2007). The virtual world allows users to participate in a vast range of experiences mimicking real life in the form of a customised avatar. Users are able to interact with each other via typed instant messages and are also capable of stimulating sexual activities with each other and even creating business ventures capable of producing genuine revenue. In this forum, everyday people can take on any form they please whether it is to escape the reality of day to day life or simply indulge in a unique past time. Whatever the case may be, it is clear that this online community has opened the doors to a new form of what we consider ‘society’ to be. Users of the program will attend to the fact that the behaviours and practices within Second Life do differ to those in the real world and this is largely due to the issue of anonymity. As users have no responsibility to divulge their true identity or agenda within Second Life, the issue of masking identities requires attention to ensure the online world remains a safe environment for its users.

Recently, the issue of masking identities within the online world was brought to the attention of the public after Sky News reported the story of a community within Second Life, called Wonderland (2006), where potential pedophiles were engaging in inappropriate behavior. The story was dubbed ‘The Wonderland Scandal’ and quickly spread throughout various media outlets. It was reported that within this sub-world, users were embodying child-like avatars and stimulating sexual acts with adult avatars. Situations such as this are a good example of the unique issues that online mediums encounter. It can easily be argued that as Second Life is a virtual world where everything is stimulated, people engaging in ‘sex’ with other users in the form of child avatars is not a punishable offence, especially as the laws applicable to online scenarios are not defined as clearly as those applying to real life situations.

Although these activities are not illegal, professionals are concerned that potential predators could use this type of stimulant to act out particular fantasies. In response to the Wonderland scandal, Jim Gamble, the head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) commented on the issue, “My concern is when that person steps out of the fantasy world; they actually bring that fantasy with them into the real world and will ultimately seek to act that out" (2007).

Second Life also attempts to address the issue of age verification by requiring all users to be over the age of 18 to protect those below this age from the adult content heavily featured ‘within world’. While Linden Lab, the creators behind Second life, have also created a similar world named Teen Second Life that is aimed towards those aged between 13-17 (Carr & Pond, 2007, p.97) who are still interested in a Second Life experience, it is not unreasonable to expect curious youths from attempting to join the adult world. Although Second Life clearly depicts that users be of a certain age, it is only enforced by a date of birth field in the initial sigh up which can be easily fabricated by curious children. As a result of the scandal being made public, efforts have been made on Second Life’s behalf to increase security in regards to age verification within the world. In an attempt to protect children, ‘in world’ users now have the ability to flag any explicit material on a voluntary basis by using a program specifically developed to verify user identity. These kinds of advancements strongly show the effects moral panic within the media has and the following results that often occur.

Second Life and other similar online communities need to be considered as new forms of society opposed to being thought of as simply video games with no effect or consequence on reality. Due to this, laws applicable to online situations and occurrences in particular, need to be developed and enforced as the medium evolves. Currently legislation over the creation of indecent images does not apply to online or virtual environments as computer generated images are not included specifically within The Sexual Offences Act. A spokeswoman for The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre refers to these kinds of images as a ‘grey area’ within legislation (2007).

An obvious, but often overlooked aspect of virtual realities lies within the members of these unique societies,

‘There are real human beings behind each avatar in Second Life. You and they have real emotions’ (White, Brian A. 2007, p.94).

This important statement exemplifies why ‘in-world’ protection in regards to age verification and child protection is necessary. Despite being a ‘virtual’ world based within the realms of the internet, these communities are structured around real people and this directly impacts real world societies.

As with any new medium such as video games or virtual worlds, continual research and theories result as the discourse within the medium evolves. New Communication Medias continue to grow at a rapid rate not only in popularity but in expanding their own set of connotations and cultural values. These kinds of virtual societies need to be considered more than a computer game or pastime as they deal with real emotions and life issues. The worlds are created and generated by users with the desire to fulfill missing aspects of their lives in reality by creating a society designed to side step real life’s issues. Virtual worlds like Second Life exemplify these beliefs through their content and evolving social practices, including the downfalls of society such as online predators.


References:

1. Carr, Paul & Pond, Graham (2007) The unofficial Tourists Guide to Second Life, Boxtree London.

2. White, Brian A (2007) Second Life: A guide to your Virtual Worlds, Que Publishing, USA.

3. Leyden, John (2007) Policy Aim to Stamp Out child abuse, http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/01/sickos_in_sadville/ (accessed: 1/5/2008)

4. CTV.ca News Staff (2007) Virtual pedophilia in Second Life causes concern, http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071104/second_life_071104/20071104/ (accessed 14/05/2008).

5. Pedophile playground discovered in ‘Second life’ virtual world (2007) http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,306937,00.html (accessed 14/05/2008).

6. Reuters, Eric (2007) UK to investigate pedophilia in virtual worlds, http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2007/10/30/uk-to-investigate-pedophilia-in-virtual-worlds/ (accessed 28/04/2008)

7. Boleto, Ricky (2008) Return to the dark side of Second Life, http://news.five.tv/news.php?news=176 (accessed 28/04/2008).

8. Harvard Law Review, vol.112, No.7 (1999) Developments in the Law: The Law of Cyberspace, The Harvard Law Review Association, USA.

9. Lynch, Mona (2002) Pedophiles and Cyber-Predators as Contaminating Forces: The Language of Disgust, Pollution, and Boundary Invasions in Federal Debates on Sex Offender Legislation, Blackwell Publishing New York.