Protecting Children in Virtual Worlds Without Undermining Their Economic, Educational and Social Benefits
39 Pages Posted: 15 Oct 2009 Last revised: 26 Mar 2010
Date Written: October 13, 2009
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.
Keywords: virtual worlds, obscenity, free speech, privacy, child welfare, serious games
JEL Classification: K1, K2, K3, K4
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Robert J. Bloomfield (Contact Author)
Cornell University - Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management ( email )
450 Sage Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
United States
607-255-9407 (Phone)
607-254-4590 (Fax)
