Age Verification/NSFW Content
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Jasper Raine
I'm going to get straight to the point on this one. On a platform like VRChat, NSFW stuff
is
going to happen, no matter what the terms says and no matter what is/isn't allowed. People are going to do this no matter what you do and in fact it already does happen... all the time. I feel the best solution to the problem is some sort of age verification as well as usage of the NSFW tags in the SDK for avatars and worlds.The use of the age verification system would let users set their birth date or just their age and would automatically filter out content with any NSFW tags along with the option to hide birth dates and ages either from everyone or people that aren't friends or both. The report system would be a way to get around issues with this as well as users showing proof with ID so that false reports do not occur. Plus with this system, legally the situations players find themselves in would fall upon the players themselves rather than VRChat, especially if you make a disclaimer specifying this in the terms. As it currently stands, potentially the legal issues fall on VRChat for not enforcing the terms enough to filter out NSFW content and this would resolve the issue entirely. It's only a matter of time before something happens in-game and VRChat gets sued. I'm no lawyer, but it doesn't take one to know stuff like this happens.
As for NSFW Content Filters, this would also solve the issue for adults that do not want to see certain NSFW content. Again, making it legally their responsibility rather than VRChat's responsibility. Making use of the check boxes in the SDK would make it much easier for this filter to work.
There's honestly no good reason for this to not already be a feature in VRChat beyond lack of time as I know it does take time to implement something like this and some effort on the team's part, but this would solve a lot of potential future issues and I'd rather not see this platform in the same position as the Titanic, thinking everything is going great and then one thing happens and it's all over.
Edit: I'd like to also add at this point that most VRChat users, or at least from what I've seen, actually don't care if NSFW stuff is in VRChat. Most people generally have a "keep it in the bedroom" sort of mentality where they're fine with it if it's not in their face. I've in fact seen many NSFW avatars in public worlds as well as NSFW discussions and other content in public worlds and people just don't care because the users, avatars, and worlds stay in VRChat without being reported or anything. There is literally no way around NSFW content and this is the only solution that makes sense: Just allow it and use content filters and age verification.
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RF_GAMER
The problem begins when it is announced that vrchat is a game with a “FREE” age rating, something that is ridiculous, vrchat has to be marked as an adult game, the entire vrchat community the vast majority are adults or at most bearded teenagers bordering on 16-17 years old, but if you are here it is because you want and not out of innocence, if a father lets his son play vrchat it is because he is a hell of an irresponsible person, if you gave a cell phone in the hand of a child TRY TO CARE FOR and manage his cell phone, if you gave a computer to the hand of a child manage the The device if a parent brings their child into the world and lets them do what they want in front of the PC that doesn't have to be our problem. VRChat has to make it clear to Steam that it is a game aimed at adults, it doesn't make sense for children to enter an “interaction” environment like VRChat and the image that the VRC team tries to pass off as a product that is basically powered by the community itself and is composed of ADULTS makes sense
淫神 Nafryti
RF_GAMER "Free" isn't an age rating, there are plenty of Free to play Adult games on Steam for example.
VRChat is a 13+ game, making it Rated T for Teen, but is often used for NSFW means even among those 17 and under. A method for locking down the NSFW content would be to Age Gate PC content. Basically make the game Quest Mode (extremely limited content) for anyone 17- and unlock PC Mode (Fully Featured) for those 18+. That could jeopardize their Teen rating though, as the game would technically be rated for Everyone at that point, depending on the population of Fully Featured users it could even be considered a Mature game.
But due to basic human ingenuity, content restricting only creates an opportunity for someone to get around it. This would bring creative workarounds for those in the limited feature set to accomplish what they really want from the game.
UlfTheHusky
Or you could just not use nsfw avatars in worlds where there might be minors
SaphiGoat
3rd party is involved.
I see dataprotection problems
淫神 Nafryti
SaphiGoat I wrote a whole bunch more than 2500 characters apparently, and... only now do I see how old this comment is... ugh, just gonna delete the majority of it and say this:
People agree to and accept data mining every day, even when subscribing to a cellular service, or buying a tablet, etc. Everything is always listening, curating ads, crunching keywords, taking hardware census data, even taking hardware sensor data too. These are things we all blindly agree to when installing apps and programs, and then later whine and complain about it happening.
Honestly, it's getting old, your data is probably more secure in their hands than in yours anyways. Get over it.
SaphiGoat
淫神 Nafryti no my data is more secure in my hands, I decide where and what I share.
Arty~
For those who haven’t seen, this was recently announced in a YouTube video update:
ivankazuya
I would like to see this feature added. For the sake of keeping minors safe.
sinsandrocks18
Please consider adding this, i'm getting real tired of seeing minors running around in public instances bare naked.
Casxapinkgoblin
Absolutely! Me and my freinds have been saying this for a very long time. It just makes sense in a game like VRchat, we're so suprised that it hasn't ever came about.
G․O․D
Would like it to use another service for verification but do really want this.
Ronnie Pawpad
SecondLife (SL) went through this process around 2009, when it was 7 years old. I remember it well. Personally, I'd rather go through some form of secure ID system that complies with GDPR and is a part of/tied to the VRChat Account System than trust that information to strangers over some third party social platform. This is what SL Did back then, and it worked mostly fine. Of course it upset a bunch of people at the time, but they were either faking their age or eventually warmed up to it because in the long run it only serves to protect the broader community. Linden Labs didn't store any of that information, it was simply used to set a flag in the account database to 1, which tagged you as being age verified 18+ and enabled you to enter worlds tagged as such. in contrast, trusting that information to 'community members' is risky, and you're also trusting the security of whatever platform of choice is in use to exchange that information. IF VRchat could take this particular page out of an already written book, that'd be a huge boon for everyone imo. Kids can go do their thing in one corner of VRChat, Adults can socialize with other adults in another corner of the virtual world without fear of accidentally hurting anyone in the lower age bracket.
I should also point out, that at least initially, this system was somewhat optional/opt in too. While i'm not fond of it being optional, I can see argument for that being a compromise for people who would rather not hand their ID in to any form of system. It could be handled the same way when opening instances, simply checking a box to 'enforce age verification in this instance' to turn it on.
deavial
I have to walk a fine line with answering here because I do not represent VRChat, nor am I giving legal advice to VRChat in this post. Attorney, not your attorney.
This topic is dangerous and should NOT be decided by a committee, a development team, project managers, or even executives. It should be decided by your attorney and ONLY by them.
The laws in the US, between the federal government and each individual state, do not work the way the OP stated—they are the exact opposite. Once age verification is implemented, you are now liable for many things. You opted to become a gatekeeper and are now subject to those parameters. This does not even account for laws in other countries.
While I am not saying don't add age verification, I am saying tread lightly. The process you elected for DCMA already places you in absolute liability; enacting another choice here without an attorney could potentially jeopardize the platform.
Jasper Raine
deavial Thanks for this, I had no idea. Hopefully VRChat will consult someone.
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