Will the growing metaverse be the next haven for criminals? According to experts, if fraud and counterfeiting are possible everywhere and that metaverses therefore do not escape it, it is not either the Far West or a place of “lawlessness”. Better international police cooperation is however called for to repress these crimes which know no borders.
The metaverse can be described as a 3D virtual world connected to the Internet, which offers an interactive experience with other users and various environments, using several existing technologies, such as augmented reality.
It is a “persistent” space, meaning that it exists without us and continues to develop when we are not connected to it. Some access it to play video games, others for teleworking meetings, to explore other worlds or even to shop there and buy a host of real or virtual objects. Examples of well-known metaverses are Decentraland, The Sandbox, and Roblox.
Will these worlds become places conducive to crime? This was the question posed during a popular panel of the first edition of the International Cybersecurity Forum North America (FIC), which was held Tuesday and Wednesday at the Palais des Congrès in Montreal.
New technologies arouse enthusiasm, but also fears precisely because “they are new” and unknown, argued Drew Dorweiler, managing director of IJW & Co, an investment bank based in Montreal,
As the telephone once was, gave the example of Toufic Adlouni, a Montreal lawyer specializing in new technologies, blockchain and cryptocurrency at the “digital law firm” Renno & Co. He recalled that in the 1960s, the United States passed “The Federal Wire Act”, when authorities realized that criminals were using the telephone to place illegal bets.
In short, he says, “any new technology can become a tool for criminals.”
And anyway, the virtual worlds are not so different from the real world, summarizes Mr. Dorweiler: “There are crimes everywhere”, there will be some there too.
In the virtual world, you can rent a place without really knowing who owns it, but this also happens in the real world, compares Mr. Dorweiler. As other examples of crimes, he speaks of counterfeit NFTs (non-fungible tokens) of identity theft or intellectual property.
But “the metaverse is not a zone of lawlessness”, slice Camille Domange, a lawyer from the firm CDO, specializing in particular in the digital sector.
There are regulations for the use of platforms and the European Union (EU) has passed laws, such as the Digital Markets Act, to govern the digital economy. Metaverse platforms are responsible for data processing, they have legal obligations and are supervised, specifies Me Too bad.
“It’s not the Far West.”
Users, despite their avatar, will take personal responsibility, just like in the real world, he says. Because contract law applies, as do the laws that protect consumers and criminal law that prohibits, for example, harassment and fraud.
You have to know our rights, which vary from one platform to another, explains Ms.e Domange, who suggests reading the terms of use carefully.
In metaverses, it is possible to avoid fraud by adopting safe practices, insists Me Adlouni, who advises his clients in this regard. But prosecuting offenders has its share of difficulties, he added.
There are many jurisdictional issues. He reports this situation: in the case of a complaint for fraud committed in the metaverse, the police say that the victim is not “physically” located on their territory and therefore cannot act. When the complaint is then filed in the place where the victim lives, the local police retort that the crime did not occur at home.
“Police forces pass the buck to each other,” explained Mr.e Adlouni in interview with The duty. Yet, he says, “the metaverse is global and knows no borders. »
He believes that police forces should work together and sees the need for a clear international cooperation policy that would define “who is responsible for helping whom.” In other words, he wants the police to find a way to facilitate access to justice for citizens in Quebec. Letting them report to the neighborhood police station doesn’t work: it takes a line of direct access to cybercrime teams, insists the lawyer. The Service de police de la ville de Montréal (SPVM) has one, as does the Sûreté du Québec (SQ).
And then, there is no bailiff in the metaverse to seize evidence of offenses, adds Me Too bad.
Lawyers and governments are thus challenged by this world that is being built before us, he concludes.