Metaverse to Give Rise to ‘Novel Legal Questions’: Blake Cassels

Though development of the metaverse remains at an early stage, “established and emerging companies are spending millions developing metaverse technologies,” said a Blake Cassels analysis Friday. “No matter what form the metaverse ultimately takes, the law will develop in response,” it said. If the metaverse develops as anticipated, “it will involve the collection of an unprecedented amount of data about users,” it said. Because a user’s access to the metaverse would be through a headset, much more data could be collected “that will give platforms a deeper understanding” of their users’ “thought patterns” and behaviors, it said. “While existing privacy causes of action could be applied in the metaverse, courts or legislatures may seek to create new causes of action,” said the analysis. Could a metaverse operator be liable for negligently failing to prevent a cyberattack that resulted in the compromise of user data? If a metaverse user breaches the privacy of another user, could the platform be liable for failing to prevent the breach? “Time will tell how the law develops in response to these challenges,” said the law firm. “The metaverse, no matter how it develops, will undoubtedly give rise to novel legal questions and issues.”