Meta’s announcement of the Metaverse came with a lot of questions. What will the Metaverse be like? What will be done in this 100 per cent digital universe? How can we ensure the protection of minors in an environment already invested by brands and marketed to sell? Are the publishers of these worlds committed to providing a safety by design experience or should they be "forced" to do so? How can users be engaged in responsible behaviour? Should avatars be allowed to do everything? 

In order to respond to the worries and questions of families and to guide all educational actors in these new immersive worlds, the French Safer Internet Centre Internet Sans Crainte has initiated an ethical charter project in 2022. Together with EdTech company Mainbot, a French start-up company incubated by the Ecole Polytechnique de Paris, they created a committee of experts to work on this ethical charter project.  

This innovative project gives the French awareness centre the opportunity to accompany Mainbot,  in a thorough reflection on the protection of young users of their future immersive universe "Winkyverse". This is a universe that is going to be also accessible to adults but in separate spaces.

In concrete terms, this work carried out in consultation with experts in children, health, and the digital ecosystem should lead to the development of a critical charter for producers of immersive universe platforms, which could be proposed to other players wishing to position themselves on the safety of their young users.

This charter will initially be addressed to publishers, but it could be adapted for the parent or child user to enable them to: 

• understand the current and future digital and real-life challenges (educational, social, legal, psychological) 
• understand and seize the learning possibilities of the metaverse 
• meet the requirements of personal data protection, while ensuring the integrity of young users 

Who is part of it?

The French regulatory authorities, in particular, the CNIL, the ARCOM, Safer Internet France, INSAFE, psychologists, and experts (Laboratoire PsyDé).

More information

Find out more about the work of the French Safer Internet Centre, including its awareness raising, helpline, hotline and youth participation services – or find similar information for Safer Internet Centres throughout Europe.