METAVERSE: MAPPING THE LEGAL AND REGULATORY VACUUM IN THE VIRTUAL DOMAIN

AUTHOR – ANJALI BUSAR, STUDENT AT RAJIV GANDHI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF LAW, PATIALA

BEST CITATION – ANJALI BUSAR, METAVERSE: MAPPING THE LEGAL AND REGULATORY VACUUM IN THE VIRTUAL DOMAIN, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 4 (1) OF 2024, PG. 283-290, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

ABSTRACT

For generations, technologists have dreamed of an era where our virtual lives become equally important as our physical realities. The ‘metaverse’ has the potential to be seen as the peak of evolutionary technological development that humankind can achieve in the foreseeable future. However, Metaverse is a pandora’s box. Numerous issues will grow and sustain like uncontrolled information accumulation that infringes on our confidential information, prolonged harassment and threats, widespread security inadequacies, biased intelligence mechanisms, and problems with the physical and psychic well-being of an individual. A radical and sophisticated approach should be undertaken to either develop fresh legislation concerning domestic and international legal rules or analyze the present wrongdoings and fit them into the current legal architecture. Additionally, installing a separate system of checks and balances in terms of regulatory protocols such as multi-factor authentication, regulation by analogy, ESP mechanism, Penetration testing tactic, etc. in order to control the ungoverned and rampant mischievous activities in the metaverse would be the most fitting solution. The author makes an attempt to uncover prevailing obstacles, provides present laws as a basis to efficiently understand and resolve the nuances, and explores diverse remedies including suggestions of certain security practices to utilize the metaverse resourcefully.

Keywords: Metaverse, Harassment, Injuries, Regulation by Analogy, Regulatory Protocols.