Meta’s reluctance to acknowledge VR’s popularity with children is becoming a bigger problem for the company as mainstream outlets, regulators and others in digital entertainment pose varying questions about its responsibility to kids and parents alike. What’s emerging is a familiar pattern in light of how Meta has responded to criticism of its social media products in the past.

This is not a new issue, of course. I wrote about it last May. But Quest 2’s strong holiday performance (still no official figures, but two analytics companies estimate around 2 million new downloads for the companion app), suggests that more families are getting familiar with VR—which explains why the topic is gaining attention. Meta’s continued inaction on this point is an Achilles heel that will only grow more troubling.