What are ‘metacrimes’ – and how can we stop them?

Sydney, Milind Tiwari, Charles Sturt University, You Zhou, Monash University What are ‘metacrimes’ – and how can we stop them? Sydney, The Apple Vision Pro is the newest tool for Australians to access three-dimensional, immersive online environments, also known as the metaverse. Metaverse, metacrime and cybercrime The metaverse is a loose term describing a kind of three-dimensional, virtual world that users access via a virtual reality headset. Our study argues the impact of metacrimes will also be exacerbated for vulnerable populations, especially children who occupy a large proportion of active metaverse users. Australia’s eSafety Commissioner’s national online safety survey conducted in 2022 found 49 per cent of metaverse users said they had entered the metaverse at least once a month in the last year.