Protecting Children and Virtual Worlds

Abstract:     
Advances in virtual world technology pose risks for the safety and welfare of children. Those advances also alter the interpretations of key terms in applicable laws. For example, in the Miller test for obscenity, virtual worlds constitute places, rather than "works," and may even constitute local communities from which standards are drawn. Additionally, technological advances promise to make virtual worlds places of such significant social benefit that regulators must take care to protect them, even as they protect children who engage with them.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 33

Keywords: Virtual Worlds, Community Standards, First Amendment, Obscenity, Child Labor

JEL Classification: K10, L96, O33, O38

working papers series