Virtual Property, Real Crime
In an interesting legal case, several Dutch teens have been convicted of “virtual theft” in a case involving “a ‘virtual amulet and a virtual mask’ from the online adventure game RuneScape.” Apparently they somehow coerced another player into transferring the items to their online avatars. The Dutch court ruled that it’s still theft, even though it involved “property” that’s little more than a few pixels and an entry in a database.
This is probably not surprising, given the massive rise in popularity of massively multiplayer games like RuneScape, World of Warcraft, and LoTR Online. One can just imagine a few high-level players ganging up on a hapless low-level character, threatening to kill the online presence unless they’re given some “valuable” item in-world. It’s just bullying transferred to an online, non-physical paradigm. Sure, no tangible property was involved but the circumstances are identical. Since that’s the case, I see no reason not to prosecute such situations in the regular court system.
Apparently only a few such cases have been heard so far, and that means this precedent is far from the last word. Law is built over time, is based on opinion and precedent, and generally moves in baby steps. I’m certain some lawyers and judges will be unwilling to push the envelope too quickly. Some may simply refuse to take a case or hear it in the courtroom until some sort of formal legal decision is arrived upon.
This also introduces another question: will in-world court systems spring up over time, managed either by self-appointed avatar judges or by representatives of the company hosting the game? Will anyone even want to wade into these untested waters? Or will we see actual judges and lawyers participating, as avatars, in virtual-world court proceedings? If universities, corporations, and even religious bodies can establish virtual presences, can the Bar Association be far behind?
Of course, this also raises the question of handling evidence and enforcing decisions made in such courts. I’ll leave it to more capable legal minds to decide how best to handle those thorny problems.