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- HB358 aims to criminalize virtual reality sexual activity with minors in Utah.
- The bill addresses legal gaps, targeting offenders using VR to exploit children.
- A study highlights significant online harassment of minors, supporting the bill's urgency.
SALT LAKE CITY — In Utah, it is a felony for an adult to reach out to a minor via text to meet up for sexual relations. But if the adult propositions a minor in virtual reality, that isn't illegal.
"Many mistakenly believe that because something happens in the digital space, it isn't real or harmful, but for a child, these experiences are psychologically damaging," Rep. Verona Mauga, D-Salt Lake City, said Thursday during the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee meeting.
So far in this year's legislative session, bills regarding crimes against children appear to be highly unifying issues across party lines. Mauga's bill, HB358, was no exception.
Passed with favorable recommendation by the committee, HB358 creates the following criminal offenses:
- Using virtual reality to participate in sexual activity with a child.
- Requesting sexually explicit conduct from an individual who is in custody.
Mauga said the bill "targets offenders hiding behind avatars" and "makes it clear that virtual reality is not a loophole for predators, and it ensures real consequences for virtual crimes if an adult is knowingly using VR technology to engage in sexual activities with a child."
Because it is not always clear what age a person is when participating in VR, Mauga clarified that the bill applies to people who "knowingly" engage in sexual acts with a minor.
Brett Robinson, senior attorney in the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, who spoke on the bill, shared a case where he had to seek a warrant for a Snapchat account.
In this case, Robinson said a mother had found her 11-year-old daughter who had fallen asleep with her VR headset on. When she went to lift the headset off her daughter, she found messages sent to her daughter via Snapchat by an adult.
The messages were along the lines of wanting the little girl to return to VR so they could participate in sexual relations again. Robinson said it was a "friend of a friend" whom the girl had never met in person.
He also spoke on the second criminal offense included in the bill. Robinson said that requesting sexually explicit conduct from an individual who is in custody was included in the bill because of a separate but similar situation where, under a technicality, it wasn't illegal.
"These are two ways where the laws don't protect the ways that people will use technology to harm vulnerable people."
According to a study that came out last year by Florida Atlantic University, significant numbers of minors have reported experiencing various forms of harassment while in virtual spaces. The study examined 5,005 13- to 17-year-old kids from the United States and found the following statistics:
- Nearly 19% encountered sexual harassment.
- Around 21% faced undesirable violent or sexual content.
- 18.1% encountered grooming or predatory conduct.
- 30% were targeted for characteristics including weight, sexual preference, sexual orientation or political affiliation.
- Girls were reportedly targeted more in terms of sexual harassment and grooming/predatory behavior.
"Right here in our state, in Utah and across the country, we are seeing adults engaging in cyber sex with children using virtual reality, and there is no legal mechanism to protect our children," Mauga said. "I think it would be prudent of us to do what we can to protect them."
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Emma Pitts
