Dark Side of Metaverse

"Today, I think we look at the Internet, But I think in the future you're going to be in the experiences" Mark Zuckerberg, October 2021

In this day and age, our entire generation has the opportunity to see an event of this kind for the first time. Our generation has been gifted with a variety of advancements that can be deemed very insane as a result of our generation's adoption of our own vision. 

An innovation that was being discussed on many different levels of society arose as a result of these many advances in the field. This new concept is referred to as a "metaverse," and it is an innovation that has surfaced in this era of digital technology. 

But who would have believed that this concept initially surfaced in the early 1980s in a novel written by Neil Stevenson called "Snow Crash," where he used the term "metaverse" for the first time? From these innovations, which also became the beginning of the digital era, extraordinary technologies emerged. 

These technologies range from SEGA's Virtual Reality arcade machines to the Swedish furniture giant IKEA's use of this technology in the selection of its furniture1. Both of these companies are examples of the extraordinary technologies that have emerged from these innovations. Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, was finally the one who made the word "metaverse" popular and brought VR and AR together in a full way.

It is indisputable that the very existence of a metaverse encourages the advancement of digital technology and assists humans in their efforts to connect the world. When we enter the world of the metaverse, the boundaries between different countries and continents cease to exist, and the metaverse itself becomes our world, allowing us to form relationships with new people whom we meet in a variety of locations. 

In addition to this, it will present a fresh perspective on the practice of conducting business or financial transactions online. When we are armed with the technology that will emerge in the future, we will have a new experience in conducting business because we will be able to touch and see for ourselves the items that we are going to purchase just as we would in the real world. 

Not to mention the fact that the metaverse can be of assistance in regards to education and online learning. In the same way that when the COVID pandemic hit, we couldn't feel like we were learning, and then applications like Zoom came along to help students and teachers in the process of teaching and learning. 

Later on, the students will have the opportunity to participate in an immersive experience during which they will be able to observe historical events firsthand rather than merely learning about them in a theoretical sense. The Metaverse is definitely a new way to do things because it gives people a digital place to socialize, learn, play, and hold business meetings.
It was once said by a wise man that whenever there is light, there must also be darkness. 

There must be a shadowy corner somewhere in the background of all of the advancements and innovations that have been presented by this metaverse. In actual use, the Metaverse is still thought of as a strange and potentially hazardous location. The reason for this is that within the metaverse itself, there are still a great number of shadowy areas that irresponsible people can take advantage of and use as a setting for carrying out illegal activities. 

This metaverse is currently experiencing a boom in popularity among younger people. A survey conducted in the spring of 2022 among 7,100 adolescents in 44 states in the United States found that 26 percent of the respondents owned a virtual reality headset, of which 5 percent reported using it on a regular basis.2

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. 

This type of violence can either be directed specifically at a woman on the basis of the fact that she is a woman, or it can disproportionately affect women. It encompasses actions that cause physical, mental, or sexual harm or suffering, as well as threats of such actions, coercion, and other forms of limiting an individual's freedom. It is possible for specific provisions of the Convention to be violated by acts of gender-based violence, regardless of whether or not those provisions specifically mention violence.

We have a responsibility to bring attention to the following phrase: "It includes acts that inflict physical, mental, or sexual harm or suffering; threats of such acts; coercion; and other deprivations of liberty." The victims of these cases of sexual assault in the metaverse have suffered both mental and sexual harm as a direct result of the assaults.

Goldberg says This is uncharted territory, and there are no laws or precedents in place to protect users, either explicitly or specifically, against sexual assault that takes place online or in a virtual environment. "It goes without saying that we are now living in a completely different world, and the law has not caught up."5

However, the metaverse itself has its pros and cons in its implementation and has been the subject of debate among experts. But there is one important point that really interests me when we talk about the metaverse. Where there is light there must be shadow, that's what wise man said. 

Behind all the advancements and innovations presented by this metaverse there must be a dark spot that must be exploited by bad people. This is where there must be important points that will be criminalized, In the end it is our duty to provide a safer environment for our people by conducting such research to the governor to bring this matter to legislative action.