Tell me, Mr. Anderson... what good is a phone call if you're unable to speak? - said Agent Smith in the Hollywood blockbuster, The Matrix.
This exactly is the situation for humans, whose Avatars are facing personal injury in the Metaverse and may not invoke the conventional laws to protect their rights and interest against such harm in the virtual world. With the growing use of haptic technology, this will become an even more urgent issue to address. At the same time, the existence of humans in the form of Avatars in the Metaverse, pose a critical challenge to the development of this technology, considering the recent incidences of bullying and sexual harassment. This article is an attempt to understanding the applicability of existing legal framework and requirement for change in law.
In 2022, at a party organized on the Meta’s Horizon Worlds, a young woman, who works as a researcher for Meta, was escorted into a private room and was sexually assaulted. In defense, the platform claimed that the researcher had turned off the ‘personal boundary’ feature of the platform, which could have protected her ‘Avatar’ from this untoward incident. This is one of the many such instances of personal injury, particularly involving women and child, on the virtual world. The act of personal injury transcends from merely a harm to a person’s body, mind, reputation or property to even deficiency of services[i], in case of Metaverse. Interpol’s recent report on Metaverse1 identifies various Meta-crimes and point towards lack of adequate laws and legal mechanism to deal with such crimes.
Injury is a well-defined term under the Penal laws. the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with offences of Hurt[ii], which pertains to harm or injury caused to a person. Having said so, the provisions have limited applicability in case of offences occurring in Metaverse. For example, to prove an offence of bodily injury, the Complainant is required to show that the injury has caused inter alia bodily pain, disease or infirmity. The Information Technology Act, 2000 does provide remedy against certain offences occurring over computer systems such as identity theft, bodily privacy, pornography et al. but does not cover bodily harm or injury as such. This limitation in the law offers a rather safe passage to offenders. It would be pertinent to note here that the IT Act has extra-territorial jurisdiction[iii] and the provisions can be invoked against ‘Whoever’, which may lay the foundation for a new legislation governing offences, which can occur in Metaverse. Taking cue from the interpretation of the word ‘workplace’ as appearing in the POSH Act[iv], the proposed legislation can include any and all such territory including Metaverse, where the offence involves an Indian citizen or its alter ego or is committed by accessing any computer system, located in India.
In a nutshell, sexual harassment in the metaverse is a grave issue that needs to be addressed straight away with proactive measures. As digital spaces expand, it is equally integrated in our personal and professional lives, it is crucial that inappropriate behaviour should be recognized and prevented. Promoting a safer and more inclusive digital space for all users requires putting up solid guidelines, fostering a respectful culture, and establishing rules in order to achieve technological safeguards. To guarantee that people may continue to explore, communicate, and express themselves in the metaverse without fear of abuse or injury, developers, platform operators, and the community must work together.
[i] Issue may arise in case of breach of ‘Personal Boundary’ as offered by Meta to its users.
[ii] Chapter XVI – Offences affecting the Human Body ; Section 319 – 338 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860
[iv] Section 2(o) of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) act, 2013 defines ‘Workplace’; Jaya Kodate v. Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University, 2014 SCC OnLine Bom 814
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