Dark Side of Metaverse

There is a lot of debate about whether or not the millennial generation can feel comfortable making friends in the metaverse. Some studies have found that when adolescents are placed in situations that do not stimulate their emotions, they are able to make decisions that are more logical and reflect the level of maturity that they have reached at that point in their development. It is challenging for teenagers to make rational decisions when they are confronted with circumstances that elicit a range of emotions in them. 

They opt for riskier courses of action rather than this. Youth may be more receptive to grooming when it is done on immersive platforms because the metaverse provides a more emotionally rich, emotionally profound, and emotionally vivid experience. Compounding factors include their particular life stage, which may include the need to follow impulses, take risks, and find validation from people outside of their family. 

Certain populations of adolescents, such as those who struggle with emotional discomfort or mental health issues, low self-esteem, poor relationships with their parents, and weak family cohesion, are more susceptible to online grooming. These populations include: These marginalized communities have a greater requirement for supplementary assistance due to the characteristics of metaverses. As a result, it makes it simpler for criminals to carry out their deeds successfully.

The world of the internet has been home to a significant number of illegal activities. In 2016, Jordan Belamire detailed his experiences as a victim of sexual assault at the hands of other gamers in an article that was published on the medium. Even in the game line, where they are supposed to be having fun, some women have experiences that could be considered traumatic. 

This case is just one example of the many cases that occur in the metaverse world. "This sounds ludicrous to anyone who hasn't stood on that virtual reality ledge and looked down, but if you have, you might start to understand. "The public virtual chasing and groping happened a full week ago and I'm still thinking about it," Jordan said.

The widespread phenomenon of misogyny in online spaces has enormously contributed to the development of a wide variety of negative consequences for women and girls. Not only does this make the internet a less equitable, less secure, or less inclusive arena for individuals, but technology-facilitated violence and harassment can also result in long-lasting impacts that are experienced outside of the digital realm. According to the findings of a survey conducted by Amnesty International in 2017, for instance, forty-one percent of women who had been subjected to online abuse or harassment had, on at least one occasion, the impression that their physical safety was in jeopardy.

As a result, the question that needs to be asked is whether or not there is a law that can guarantee that everyone can enjoy the metaverse in peace and safety. We are able to conduct additional research into the aforementioned incident, as well as a more in-depth analysis of it. The concept of "locus delicti," which refers to the location where the criminal act took place, is frequently discussed in criminal law. 3And in this case, we apply the theory of material actions, which states that the actions of the perpetrator should be examined from the perspective of the perpetrator's physical position. Let's go back to the harassment case in Jordan: if the perpetrator of the harassment is a foreign national who resides outside of Jordan's jurisdiction, then the law of the perpetrator's home country should be applied to the situation. 

In the same vein, if a crime is committed in the metaverse by a person from another country, such as an Indonesian, against a citizen of Singapore, the perpetrator of the crime will be punished according to the laws of Indonesia. Because of this, from the perspective of the legal system in my home country of Indonesia, there is currently no law that regulates the metaverse. However, given that the metaverse is an extension of the real world, any form of sexual assault that takes place within that virtual world ought to be treated as a sexual offense.

Perhaps in its application until now there is no very specific law governing the crime. But basically, now there are several laws which in essence can be the legal basis for this criminal act. However, in Art. 40 of Istanbul Convention it is stated that "Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that any form of unwanted verbal, nonverbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person, in particular when creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment, is subject to criminal or other legal sanction."4

In this article, it was stated that the parties were required to take legislative action or other measures to ensure that these illegal actions would not be carried out. The legislative act is the most important aspect to consider; this indicates that individual states or nations have the ability to ratify this article and engage in legislative action by passing a law that takes such acts into consideration.

In addition, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women states that the definition of discrimination against women can be found in article 1 of the convention itself. Violence against women on the basis of their gender is considered to be a form of discrimination.