ABSTRACT
In light of the developments made subject to the fact that investment in Metaverse platforms continues to increase incrementally, what kind of legal violations users are faced with in these very new virtual universes, and more importantly, to what extent these legal violations can be remedied by the developers is a very curious issue for now. In this article; violations of personal rights on Metaverse platforms, decisions made by judicial authorities and actions taken by the developers in response to these violations will be examined.
I. INTRODUCTION
Although the concept of Metaverse was heard by many for the first time when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook was changing its name to Meta at an event he attended on October 28, 2021, this concept was first introduced by author Neal Stephenson in the science fiction novel, Snow Crash, published in 19921. Metaverse, which is a combination of the Greek word “meta” meaning “beyond” and “next”, and “universe”; refers to the set of programs in which users interact with each other by connecting to virtual environments created by computers that imitate the real world with the help of devices such as virtual reality glasses. In simpler terms, Metaverse can be described as virtual universes where users can simultaneously go to work or school, watch concerts and go shopping with other people.
Despite the fact that many giant organizations, from game companies to mega fashion brands, have started to come forward with the content they made for the Metaverse with Facebook’s renaming of Meta, the Metaverse is actually just an idea for now. According to this idea, the Metaverse will emerge as a result of convergence and combination of many digital and online technologies, some of which have already come into our lives and some of which we are just beginning to hear. For now, although there are some online concepts such as games, artificial reality, digital meeting places, blockchain-like digital assets, and even direct brain interaction with machines. It is considered that the Metaverse will not be limited to these. The biggest innovation of the Metaverse, whose scope and possibilities will increase to a large extent, especially with the inclusion of artificial intelligence and Object Internet, is what this combination will bring to our lives rather than the combination itself. If the combination of these concepts materializes as envisioned, it is expected that the Metaverse will replace the internet as it is today and become the center of personal and commercial interaction, and thus, become the source of the most valuable consumer data2.
Even if the assumptions about how the Metaverse will affect our lives seem no different than talking about the future of the internet in the 60s, one of the biggest question marks and perhaps one of the most important of these is to what extent the law applied in daily life can provide justice on the Metaverse axis. The fact that there are currently no regulatory laws regarding the Metaverse does not seem to be a significant deficiency for some. Although it seems reasonable and logical at first glance that the laws that have been accepted by the lawmakers in real life will be valid for artificial worlds that are similar to our real world, and that no deficiencies will arise, most believe that this will not be enough. For instance, according to Megan Gordon, managing partner of Clifford Chance Washington, the legal and regulatory challenges faced will become more complex over time as the scope of the Metaverse continues to expand and evolve with technological developments. It is inevitable that problems such as jurisdiction, territoriality and conflict of laws, which have not been fully resolved even in today’s internet world, acquire a different dimension based on a much higher degree of interaction in a deeply interconnected and decentralized structure like the Metaverse3.
The subject of this article is to demonstrate the application area of currently applied law in the innovations that the Metaverse has brought into our lives. Although no one has a definite prediction about what this brandnew idea will evolve into in 20 years, the solutions and legal mechanisms that users have been able to find against the problems they encountered and to what extent legal mechanisms can satisfy victims against tortious acts in the artificial world will undoubtedly give clues regarding the extent to which the currently applied law will be sufficient in the future and in which areas development and reforms are needed. In the following sections, the encountered problems and the solutions used in response, which legal and special mechanisms were applied and the results obtained will be summarized; in the closing section, the validity and impact of the current application area of law will be evaluated in light of the events described.
II. LEGAL DISPUTE AREAS
A. Protection of Personal Data and Privacy
Today, it is a fact known by many that software companies can obtain most of the users’ data through applications. Software such as websites and applications developed by giant companies and used by many people around the world can actually obtain a lot of data about users by processing information such as the time their users spend on the relevant content, their likes, comments and interactions with other users. Thanks to this data, when users with similar interests and choices are grouped through algorithms with artificial intelligence, many private information about users, from their interests to their political orientations, can be obtained. The biggest example of this is Meta, formerly named Facebook, which has made the biggest investments in Metaverse platforms. In the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the details of which were revealed in 2018, although advertising of propaganda for Britain’s departure from the European Union to the accounts identified by processing of Facebook data of approximately 50 million people before the Brexit referendum had made a loud noise in the international community, a fine of 500,000 pounds on Facebook for not being able to protect the data of its users was imposed by the British authorities even though the effect of the complex algorithm on the elections has not been fully determined due to the fact that judicial authorities have not yet fully understood the matter4.
While the Cambridge Analytica Scandal revealed what social media companies can do with their limited data, it is considered inevitable that the consequences that may arise as a result of the abuse of platforms such as the Metaverse, which can provide a much higher data flow from their users, will be much greater. Metaverse will obtain much more private information of its users compared to traditional social media platforms5. Companies will be able to obtain biometric data from their users in the Metaverse universe such as psychological responses, facial expressions, tone of voice, heart rhythm or breathing frequency. Looking at these data individually, it may be thought that they will not make any sense. However, when data of millions of users is collected and then processed, they will be able to give meaningful analysis on the behaviors and lifestyles of the users, and this information may pave the way for the personalization of advertisements or the most functional dissemination of political propaganda.
In light of the aforementioned, these new generation platforms, which will be able to obtain the most private information of users, will need to be inspected much more strictly than traditional social media platforms. Apart from this obvious requirement, there are still many questions that need to be answered. For instance, considering that these next-generation platforms are decentralized, who will be responsible for processing users’ data? Or when a data breach or data theft occurs, who will be responsible and to what extent will they be penalized6?
B. Sexual Violence
Although interest in Metaverse platforms has increased recently, these platforms have already been shaken by many harassment and rape accusations. According to a report published by non-profit legal organization SumOfUs, a twenty-one-year-old woman, who did not want to mention her name, was raped online within the first hour she spent on the Metaverse7. According to her claim, the woman was led into a private room at a party on the application “Horizon Worlds”, a platform developed by Meta to hold online meetings, play games and design an “artificial world”, and was raped by another group within the hour she spent on the application. Reportedly, other people were able to see what happened during the incident, and some even laughed and drank virtual drinks.
In addition to the glasses used to connect to Metaverse platforms, special gloves have been designed so that users can feel the sensation of holding objects around them. This feel, achieved through vibrating devices in the gloves, can also be captured by tapping other users’ virtual ‘avatars’. According to the victim, “It is still quite disturbing to feel these vibrations during an attack similar to the one mentioned, even though it is known that what has been done is not real.”
According to the statement made by Meta (Facebook) after the incidents, with the update that came last February, it is possible for users to create an invisible bubble around their avatars. In this way, although it is reported that other users will not be able to get closer than one meter to the avatar or the vibration sensation will not be transmitted, there are many who think that even this system can be abused for the reason that millions of users will enter the platforms8.
Another similar incident occurred in a popular shooting game developed for the Metaverse, the Population One. A woman named Siggens, while connected to VR glasses, was playing the game when another user first harassed Siggens’ avatar and then poured virtual body fluids on her. When Siggens asked him to stop, he replied, “This is the Metaverse, I can do whatever I want here.” According to the reports, Siggens later reported the account that made this attack to the game administrators by filling out a form, but the response from the administrators was “User has been penalized.” However, there is still no explanation as to what the penal action was or by whom and how this action was decided9.
C. Physical Injuries
Even though it sounds very interesting, many law firms have already started to open an office on Metaverse platforms in the short period of time since its development. The primary issue most of these law firms deal with is physical injuries that have occurred10. Richard Grungo JR, the owner of the New Jersey-based law firm and the first law firm to be opened in the Metaverse within the scope of physical injuries, explains the rationale behind this initiative by saying “Many lawyers and law firms may think that this is too unnecessary and done for show. However, those same lawyers and law firms likely looked at social media the same way in the late 2000s before it revolutionized the way clients interact with lawyers and law firms. We believe the Metaverse has the same game-changing potential and are putting our virtual flag in the ground today for that very reason”. The accuracy of this logic will only be proven over time.
Although it is not possible for a person to be physically injured on virtual Metaverse platforms, getting injured while connected to the platforms is actually quite likely. This is because of devices that constantly try to convince our brain that it is in a completely different place. Virtual Reality (VR) glasses are the most popular of the devices used to enter into Metaverse platforms. When users wear these glasses, their visual perception of the outside world is completely closed off while the visuals transmitted to users make it feel as if they are in a completely different reality. Thus, users who get the feeling that they are walking on a grassy field from their glasses may actually be right on the edge of a staircase in their outside world, or any player playing in a virtual tennis match may actually be moving with their eyes closed right next to a sharp object. The images transmitted through the glasses already look very realistic. According to a report by Forbes, “30% of users are unable to walk across their room when their VR glasses show a simulation of walking on a tightrope stretched between two towers”11. So, it seems possible to experience not only slight injuries, but also serious injuries that can lead to heart attacks12.
Apart from these, vomiting in case the perceived reality in the Metaverse universe and body movements do not match, becoming addicted to the Metaverse as a result of spending too much time, suffering trauma as a result of an incident, even having seizures due to virtual ambient light effects and flashes transmitted through glasses are just a few of the complaints made so far13. Nevertheless, in the case that companies developing Metaverse software don’t write up well thought out terms of use in detail, there will be no reason for it not to come up in compensation claims as a result of such injuries14.
D. Dignity and Deepfake
Deepfake is a concept that the international community is still quite unfamiliar with, even though its awareness has increased thanks to campaigns on the matter. Deepfake indicates the use of artificial intelligence software to create an imitation of someone in a video by swapping his/ her face from any other video15. To do this, firstly, a target video is needed as the basis of the Deepfake and then a collection of video clips of the person to be inserted in the target16. It is not necessary for these videos to be shot in similar places or at similar angles. Artificial intelligence can process all these images without needing any help and can design the video in the requested format. In today’s technology, these videos can be so convincing that the video of former president of United States of America, Barack Obama, produced by using Deepfake technology, can be found effortlessly on video sharing sites has even shocked experts in the field. In today’s world where misinformation can expand more rapidly than true information, Deepfakes can easily threaten the accuracy of information about a person whose image exists in the digital world. However, this threat increases exponentially on Metaverse platforms where all digital images and movements belonging to a person can easily be recorded.
It is not such a difficult task to create Deepfake images of a person whose images exists on Metaverse platforms to swap them into pornographic videos or to make fake statements of a person look like it came out of their mouth for political aims17. All these possibilities are within the extent of thoroughly harming the dignity of a person, especially publicly known people, and their right of privacy. The possibility of creating a video of someone doing something or saying something that he or she has never said or done, and doing so indistinguishably from an original vision will undoubtedly overshadow the reliability of many issues, even of allegations heard and evidence used before court. On the other hand, the fact that a person who really committed a crime has criminal footages of committing the act which is subject of a crime can make the criminal’s claim that images presented as evidence are fake much easier18.
III. CONCLUSION
Undoubtedly, the Metaverse will bring into our lives many innovations within itself. Among these innovations, there are opportunities that will revolutionize enterprises’ interactions with customers, but, on the other hand, there will be serious violations of personal rights that will become easier to be committed. In the coming years, to bring only the benefits of the Metaverse while keeping the potential harms away from our lives will only be materialized as a result of hard work and sustained effort of politicians and law makers; and of legal regulations that effectively closes the legal holes, and made by parliaments in cooperation with organizations that are deeply specialized in software and computer science19. In this context, the European Union takes the lead. Agreed in April 2022, the Digital Markets Act aims to protect fundamental rights of users and present a safer digital environment through providing equal market for all developers. While it is considered certain that similar legal regulations will be put into action by other countries and organizations in the upcoming years, the extent to which these regulations can affect virtual universes and to what extent they can provide justice will only be understood in time and depending on technological developments.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ADRIANA DIAZ, Disturbing reports of sexual assaults in the metaverse: ‘It’s a free show’, (Access Date: 01.06.2022), https:// nypost.com/2022/05/27/women-are-being-sexually-assaulted-in-the-metaverse/.
ANDREW MCCOLLUM, The Metaverse’s Dark Side: Here Come Harassment And Assaults, (Access Date: 03.06.2022), https://newsupdate.uk/the-metaverses-dark-side-here-comeharassment-and-assaults/.
CAROLYN PEPPER/ JONATHAN ANDREWS, Reed Smith Guide To The Metaverse, (Access Date: 31.05.2022) https:// www.reedsmith.com/en/perspectives/metaverse.
CHRIS MORRIS, The metaverse gets its first personal injury lawyer, (Access Date: 01.06.2022), https://fortune. com/2021/12/13/metaverse-personal-injury-lawyer/.
DAVE JOHNSON, What is a deepfake? Everything you need to know about the AI-powered fake media, (Access Date: 04.06.2022) https://www.businessinsider.com/whatis-deepfake.
GUDEN INTERNATIONAL LAW FIRM, Metaverse: What Legal Issues Can We Expect In The Next Chapter Of The Internet?, (Access Date: 03.06.2022) https://guden.av.tr/metaverselaw.
IMRAN AHMAD/ TIANA COROVIC, Privacy in a Parallel Digital Universe: The Metaverse, (Access Date: 02.06.2022), https://www.dataprotectionreport.com/2022/01/privacy-in-a-parallel-digital-universe-the-metaverse/.
MEGAN GORDON, The Metaverse: What Are The Legal Implications, Clifford Chance, (Access Date: 03.06.2022), https:// www.cliffordchance.com/insights/resources/hubs-and-toolkits/talking-tech/en/articles/2022/02/the-metaverse--whatare-the-legal-implications-.html.
SAM TABAHRITI, Meta Is Putting A Stop To Virtual Groping İn İts Metaverse By Creating 4-Foot Safety Bubbles Around Avatars, (Access Date: 05.06.2022), https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-metaverse-virtual-groping-personal-boundary-safety-bubble-horizons-venues-2022-2.
SCHUYLER MOORE, Law In The Metaverse, (Access Date: 06.06.2022)https://www.forbes.com/sites/schuylermoore/2021/12/22/law-in-the-metaverse/?sh=6b3f656a45d1.
SEAN MURPHY/ LARA WHITE, Et Al, The Metaverse: The evolution of a universal digital platform, (Access Date: 07.06.2022), https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en-us/ knowledge/publications/5cd471a1/the-metaverse-the-evolution-of-a-universal-digital-platform.
TOM HUDDLESTON JR, This 29-year-old bookd predicted the ‘metaverse’ – and some of Facebook’s plans eerly similar, (Access Date: 02.06.2022), https://www.cnbc. com/2021/11/03/how-the-1992-sci-fi-novel-snow-crash-predicted-facebooks-metaverse.html.
FOOTNOTE
1 Tom Huddleston Jr., This 29-yearold book predicted the ‘metaverse’ – and some of Facebook’s plans eerily similar, CNBC, 03.11.2021 https://www. cnbc.com/2021/11/03/how-the-1992- sci-fi-novel-snow-crash-predicted-facebooks-metaverse.html.
2 Sean Murphy/ Lara White, Et Al, The Metaverse: The evolution of a universal digital platform, Norton Rose Fulbright, Temmuz 2021, https:// www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en-us/ knowledge/publications/5cd471a1/ the-metaverse-the-evolution-of-a-universal-digital-platform.
3 Megan Gordon, The Metaverse: What Are The Legal Implications, Clifford Chance, 13.02.2022, https://www. cliffordchance.com/insights/resources/ hubs-and-toolkits/talking-tech/en/articles/2022/02/the-metaverse--what-arethe-legal-implications-.html.
4 Wikipedia, “Facebook – Cambridge Analytica Data Scandal”, 02.06.2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook%E2%80%93Cambridge_Analytica_data_scandal.
5 Imran Ahmad/ Tiana Corovic, “Privacy in a Parallel Digital Universe: The Metaverse”, 25.01.2022, https://www.dataprotectionreport. com/2022/01/privacy-in-a-parallel-digital-universe-the-metaverse/.
6 Guden International Law Firm, “Metaverse: What Legal Issues Can We Expect In The Next Chapter Of The Internet?”, https://guden.av.tr/ metaverselaw.
7 Adriana Diaz, “Disturbing reports of sexual assaults in the metaverse: ‘It’s a free show’”, NYPost, 27.05.2022, https://nypost.com/2022/05/27/ women-are-being-sexually-assaulted-in-the-metaverse/.
8 Sam Tabahriti, “Meta İs Putting A Stop To Virtual Groping In Its Metaverse By Creating 4-Foot Safety Bubbles Around Avatars”, BusinessInsider, 05.02.2022, https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-metaverse-virtual-groping-personal-boundary-safety-bubble-horizons-venues-2022-2.
9 Andrew McCollum, “The Metaverse’s Dark Side: Here Come Harassment And Assaults”, News Update, 30.12.2021, https://newsupdate.uk/ the-metaverses-dark-side-here-comeharassment-and-assaults/.
10 Chris Morris, “The metaverse gets its first personal injury lawyer”, Fortune, 13.12.2021, https://fortune. com/2021/12/13/metaverse-personal-injury-lawyer/.
11 Schuyler Moore, “Law In The Metaverse”, Forbes, 22.12.2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/schuylermoore/2021/12/22/law-in-themetaverse/?sh=6b3f656a45d1.
12 Ibid.
13 Ibid.
14 Guden International Law Firm, “Metaverse: What Legal Issues Can We Expect In The Next Chapter Of The Internet?”, https://guden.av.tr/ metaverselaw.
15 Dave Johnson, “What is a deepfake? Everything you need to know about the AI-powered fake media”, Business Insider, 01.22.2022, https:// www.businessinsider.com/what-isdeepfake.
16 Ibid.
17 Carolyn Pepper/ Jonathan Andrews, “Reed Smith Guide To The Metaverse”, ReedSmith, Mayıs 2021, https://www.reedsmith.com/en/perspectives/metaverse.
18 Ibid.
19 Guden International Law Firm, “Metaverse: What Legal Issues Can We Expect In The Next Chapter Of The Internet?”, https://guden.av.tr/ metaverselaw.
