Metaverse and Its Regulation

Download or read book Metaverse and Its Regulation written by Omer Aamir and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The digital era has improved many aspects of our lives. There has never been greater access to information, nor a time when so much of the information available to us was free. Many marginalized groups and individuals now have large and unstoppable digital megaphones in their hands. Those who are physically far apart can feel closer to each other. Art has never been so easy to find, nor have so many artists paid for their work. Similarly, knowledge and expert opinions in fields ranging from medicine to law to education to aeronautics to finance are readily available through digital media (usually free).The metaverse is a shared virtual world accessed through physical means that users can access from any platform while connected to the internet, and where they can interact through their virtual avatars. It will likely be used for a multitude of purposes such as gaming (the primary use as of now), shopping and novel advertising, job training, education, working remotely, doctor's appointments, travel, social activities, entertainment, buying and selling virtual land, trading crypto & NFT's and selling real-world goods virtually. Access to the Metaverse can be via virtual reality, augmented reality, or a combination of both. Metaverse is a unique development in cyberspace. It uses Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) headsets to transpose users from physical space to virtual reality. A person sitting in Nigeria can roam the fields and hill tracts of Mongolia. People can weigh in on opinions about the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Taiwan strait crisis, and Israel-Palestine dispute amongst a host of other topics with people across the globe while interacting in the Plaza and people with common interests such as soccer fans can find a meeting place. Also, business executives can conduct conferences, attend meetings, and deliver presentations while sitting in the comfort of their homes. However, a host of important questions arise as to how to regulate this new frontier. The issues of concern regarding data collection (such as biometric data specifically), which might later be used by algorithms for targeted advertised campaigns make regulators wary of this new space. Moreover, there is the looming threat that with a lack of criminal code regulating activities in the metaverse, it might be circumvented by unscrupulous fraudulent actors for unlawful activities. These concerns are addressed in Section iii (a) of this report. Also, the question of regulating and underwriting financial transactions and contracts in the metaverse is something that is not entirely covered by existing laws and regulations. Lastly, the spread of fake news across the metaverse can result in disastrous consequences in the real world. The need to regulate the metaverse requires a robust legal architecture that caters to the ever-evolving needs of this new space; in particular regulating targeted advertising and marketing in this new domain.