Linden Lab, the creator of the popular virtual world Second Life, said it will roll out a filtering system to segregate mature and adult content from the rest of the Second Life offerings. According to company officials, the plan is based on feedback from subscribers, content creators, and businesses.
“Preferences and community standards vary tremendously across industries, countries and cultures,” said Mark Kingdon, CEO of Linden. “Our goal is to retain as much of the freedom as possible while continuing to push the medium and our platform forward. As we continue to grow, it is crucial that we maintain the diversity of user-generated content while providing enhanced controls to support a wider range of uses.”
The Red-Light Continent
The new plan has two components: Virtual segregation of mature and adult content into a brand-new continent within Second Life, and an age-verification system to limit who can view the content.
Linden said the time line and procedures for migrating existing adult businesses to the new continent is being finalized and should be released by the end of the second quarter. Businesses that are required to move will be able to leave a sign temporarily indicating their new location.
In addition, the company will institute procedures requiring users to obtain account verification before accessing adult content. Verification can be accomplished in one of two ways: By having payment information on file, or by signing up for Linden’s age-verification service operated by Aristotle, which uses government-issued IDs to verify ages.
A Business-Oriented Cleanup
The move to ship adult content “overseas” is reminiscent of the real-world efforts of New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to clean up Times Square and make it more family-friendly. For Linden Lab, however, the motivation is less about tourism than it is about being more business-friendly.
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