The term ‘metaverse’ represents different things to different people, but at its core, it is the cutting edge of digital communication and entertainment. There have already been several developments this year which indicate the rapid development of this technological paradigm. In January, South Korea unveiled a long-term roadmap to boost its metaverse industry, which aims to become the world’s fifth-largest market over the next five years. Similarly, Microsoft’s US$68.7 billion acquisition of Activision, the largest purchase in gaming history, is expected to turbocharge the race towards the metaverse. India’s own Task Force on Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) announced in the Union Budget provides an opportunity to set the domestic tech ecosystem on the frontier of a new virtual universe.
India’s own Task Force on Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) announced in the Union Budget provides an opportunity to set the domestic tech ecosystem on the frontier of a new virtual universe.
A functional definition of the metaverse is that it is an alternate digital reality, based on a set of experiential 3D worlds, where users are an intrinsic part of virtual and augmented reality environments. Indian tech companies like Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys are reportedly gearing up to participate in this ecosystem. However, its broad feature, with features such as the synchrony of user participation and the persistence of virtual environments, will confuse policy makers who struggle to control the digital economy even in its current incarnation. We consider four related public interest concerns that the AVGC Task Force may examine with the help of civil society experts.
Its broad feature, along with features such as user participation and the persistence of virtual environments, will confuse policy makers who struggle to control the digital economy even in its current incarnation.
First on the list is the issue of user safety – an unknown but important area for the Indian AVGC markets. An early metaverse has already experienced its first case of groping and sexual assault. In two separate incidents, beta testers claimed that they had been sexually assaulted in the Metaverse. Toxic behavior is nothing new in AVGC markets like gaming. Harassment, assault and bullying are rampant in online gaming but the pervasive nature of virtual reality (VR) adds a whole new level of infringement. VR in the Metaverse immerses people in a multi-sensory environment, where unwanted advances can feel real.
Indian law has limited application to online sexual harassment. For example, posting lewd comments, soliciting sexual intercourse or showing pornography is punishable under section 354A of the Indian Penal Code. However, Section 354A primarily penalizes physical contact or advance. It does not consider harassment through advancement/groping in the digital environment. Similarly, cyber stalking is not gender-neutral under Section 354D. It considers stalking an offense only when a man follows a woman and approaches her despite her apparent refusal. Failure to identify/verify the gender of a stalker may render the provision void. The general challenges of online anonymity will become more complex in the metaverse that will surely become hotspots of deep-fake or hacked avatars.
The general challenges of online anonymity will become more complex in the metaverse that will surely become hotspots of deep-fake or hacked avatars.
Second, the metaverse will require evolving user privacy protections. The Metaverse engine will know both how users behave and how they react to various sensory inputs. That is, they will be able to predict changes in user emotions through dynamic mapping and monitoring of posture, facial expressions, gaze, voice changes and vital signs. This will enable such services to better profile users’ cognitive and limbic systems than existing AVGC industries, which challenge traditional legal structures around privacy. As users move through complex virtual worlds, collecting their consent to process data will become cumbersome. Notably, the notice and consent mechanism under the Draft Data Protection Bill, 2021 will become ineffective. This calls for a change in current data security to a more risk-based approach that is designed to reduce specific pitfalls such as profiling based on biological markers.
Third, the proliferation of diverse metaverses will present many new challenges to intellectual property (IP) regimes—such as those for copyrights and trademarks—that currently drive the AVGC industries. If the metaverse is not changed to balance reach and exclusivity, traditional IP principles will become irrelevant. Let’s consider if a user creates a piece of art in a particular metaverse. Will this be related to the user or the Metaverse service or the owner of the underlying work or the developers of the app providing the artistic tools? Also, who is responsible for putting unauthorized IP protected content in a Metaverse environment?
If the metaverse is not changed to balance reach and exclusivity, traditional IP principles will become irrelevant.
Currently, rights-holders rely on online platforms and intermediaries to implement IP protection. For example, the Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021, mandates due diligence by an online intermediary and strict removal requirements for pirated content. However, in the digital age where 2.5 quintals of bytes of data are generated every day, notice and takedown systems are not suitable for enforcement of piracy. The arrival of the metaverse will be an exponential data explosion, and there are already doubts about whether telecommunications and Internet networks will even be able to keep up.
Such concerns only scratch the surface of the many policy entanglements that are likely to arise with the advent of the metaverse. For example, competition and trade policies may need changes, as the critical and sensitive nature of the technologies will power the metaverse. The technologies in question will range from advanced hardware such as quantum computers to neural networks that feed hungry algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI). If the AVGC task force is to achieve only one objective – it will be to reinforce the urgency to modernize the laws and regulations that currently support India’s digital ecosystem. This will create a significant strategic outcome to help guide an exciting yet challenging virtual world.
this article was First published on ORF,
Vivaan Sharan is a visiting fellow at ORF. Noyanika is a Research Assistant at Batta Esya Center, New Delhi. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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