Cyberbullying and Virtual Reality
The term metaverse is derived from the contraction of meta and universe. It is therefore a universe that goes beyond the one we know, a virtual world.
The term is regularly used to describe a future version of the Internet where Virtual, immersive, persistent and shared spaces are accessible through the use of virtual reality. (VR) or augmented reality (AR). These are worlds where our 3D avatars can meet up to play, socialise, shop... just like in real life.
First reports of sexual harassment
As early as 2000, online game designer Raph Koster published an unofficial declaration of avatar rights, setting out inalienable rights such as: the right to physical integrity of the avatar. This was more than just a prediction, as the first reports of sexual harassment in virtual reality spaces are now emerging... raising legal questions.
How can we effectively address the offence of sexual harassment if it is ONLY virtual? Legally classifying actions that take place in virtual reality spaces remains a difficult task, mainly because offences were designed to be classified in real life.
Current legal responses
In practice, sexual harassment consists of three elements:
- The material element consists of repeated remarks or behaviour with sexual connotations);
- The moral element must be verified by the perpetrator's intent to impose this behaviour on the victim. The result must be an intimidating, hostile or offensive situation.
- The legal element is embodied in Article 222-16 of the Criminal Code, which punishes the perpetrator of such an offence with 1 to 3 years' imprisonment and a fine of €15,000 to €45,000.
The transposition of the offence onto the web is well verified. The avatar as an extension of the user, If the avatar is attacked, its user will be considered to have been attacked as well. In this respect, the digital world does not obey different rules. The sexual harassment can therefore take place in a virtual environment.
The question of the applicability of sanctions remains. The virtual nature of the offence therefore raises the question of the issue of identification, since user anonymity is possible and permitted on the metaverse. It is even reinforced by the use of blockchain technologies. Finally, the metaverse may lead to conflicts of applicable law and jurisdiction.
Ad hoc regulation in response
Article 6-4 of the Law on Confidence in the Digital Economy requires various platforms to implement «appropriate procedures and human and technological resources» to deal with requests to remove hateful content.
Internal procedures enable report a situation of harassment and it is up to the platform to remove the content who does not comply with its terms of use. In practice, Meta and Microsoft now apply a protective bubble around avatars by default., preventing strangers from approaching within a metre of them. Microsoft has also removed meeting spaces from its Altspace VR metaverse.
In practice, platforms may proceed with banning a user's IP address when he violated the terms and conditions for situations of harassment.
Need for an ethical approach
If current legal texts must therefore be adapted to effectively protect victims of cyberbullying, Another approach is to raise awareness to this new virtual world, the ins and outs of which are still too little understood. Because the The human brain struggles to distinguish between game and reality in such an immersive experience., it is necessary to engage in a genuine, in-depth reflection on this subject. In this regard, the think tank known as the Oasis Consortium recommends establishing a partnership with the authorities to effectively report problematic behaviour.
