Security, Legal, and Ethical Implications of Using Virtual Worlds

Security, Legal, and Ethical Implications of Using Virtual Worlds Alfreda Dudley1, James Braman1, Yuanqiong Wang1, Giovanni Vincenti1, Donna Tupper2 Towson University1 Dept. of Computer and Information Sciences 8000 York Rd. Towson, MD. USA {adudley, ywang , jbraman, gvincenti, } @towson.edu Community College of Baltimore County – Essex2 School of Mathematics and Science 7201 Rossville Boulevard. Baltimore, MD. USA [email protected] ABSTRACT virtual crimes can have on our real lives. In order to more clearly understand the security, legal and ethical Technologies such as virtual worlds have become an implications and the potential “side effects” of using increasing area for research over the past several years. virtual worlds, the authors have started to investigate the Many active internet users are using virtual worlds like most populated virtual world, Second Life, in particular. Second Life for social interactions of all kinds. These mediums are a growing trend for online communication; In this paper, the aim is not to solve these issues or the impacts of using this technology are of importance. In propose solutions, but to ask questions and to raise this paper, the authors discuss leading areas of concern awareness to these problems. The paper is divided up in related to the use of virtual worlds focusing on security, the following sections: First, a brief overview of Second legal and ethical implications. Life and how it can be used in different contexts. Next, a brief discussion on the potential Security, Ethical, and Keywords: Virtual worlds, Ethics, Second Life, Security Legal issues and their implications are addressed. Finally, Implications, Legal Implications a discussion on the security aspects of educational delivery is addressed. These sections are then followed 1. INTRODUCTION by a discussion on our future work and conclusion. Social interaction online is clearly changing. There is a 2. IMPACTS OF VIRTUAL WORLDS growing shift of information presented online with a strong emphasis on visualization, user created content Unlike other traditional communication through email, and social interaction in particular. Within the context of phone and through flat 2D web technologies, virtual social interaction coupled with the rise of new worlds imply special references outside of the actual technologies and improvements in hardware, many users geographic location of the users that are communicating are turning to virtual worlds to collaborate, share [2]. Couple this feature with the ability to visualize and information and to spend time online. While using these interact with other users in three dimensions in a realistic 3D based virtual environments has potential advantages manner, provides a powerful medium for social over traditional methods of online communication, interaction online. With a rise in interest in virtual worlds security, legal and ethical issues associated with and the availability to users, these spaces are beginning to behaviors in these virtual environments are mostly have a significant impact on how we communicate and overlooked. These issues need to examined: particularly, conduct transactions through the Internet. Second Life in with a growing user base in environments such as Second particular has been the topic of many such discussions Life, Twinity, and World of Warcraft, just to name a and research endeavors. few. Second Life is an Internet based three-dimensional virtual From the early text based virtual worlds to the more world created by Linden Lab, originally released in 2003. advance and complex graphical based environments of There has been a large increase in users over the last few today, there have always been debate as to the ethical and years, now totaling over 16 million registered accounts legal implications of virtual worlds. Looking back to the [3]. Many other virtual worlds are also popular such as first cyberspace rape in a Multi-User Dungeon (MUD) Twinity [4], Active Worlds [5] and There [6] and many [1], to the more complex worlds we see today that link more. Some attribute the popularity of Second Life to the real world financial data to virtual economies, the large amount of varying in-world activities [7]. Users boundaries to real life and the virtual are blurred. It is not interact within the environment, with objects and clear as to the potential harm virtual actions or online socialize with other users, through their virtual representation, known as an avatar. The user’s avatar can deception or users basing decisions from information be customized in many ways, allowing flexibility on how gained through these characters [9]. we can be perceived to the outside world. One can choose an opposite gender, size, race or even choose to become Another topic of concern relates to social engineering; for an animal or other non-human entity. The users of instance, users deceiving other users of important and Second Life, or “Residents” as is the preferred often confidential information. The idea of Phishing terminology can build and create objects, buildings, online is not a new one as this occurs often on the web clothes and much more for their virtual selves. Using the when a legitimate and reputable looking website is used Linden Scripting Language (LSL) objects can be in order to steal a user’s identification by tricking them animated and scripted to perform non-static actions into thinking the website is real. In a similar fashion, the creating a more interactive and “real” environment. same could also occur in a virtual setting through Virtual worlds and other similar interactive spaces that conversations between users. Let’s say that an avatar allow the users to script and create their own content develops legitimate and honest reputation overtime with often encourage emergent behaviors. This emergent other users and befriending other players. This avatar behavior is what drives creativity, but sometimes leads to overtime could through conversation built of trust, problems as the “rules” can be bent in ways the creators socially engineer other user’s real information if it’s did not foresee. Some of these issues are discussed in this divulged. It is our observation and experience that users paper. often divulge personal information, location, education level and occupation to other players when there is some 2.1 Security Issues establishment of trust between users. There has been much debate over the potential security 2.2. Ethical Issues risks related to the use of virtual worlds. As with all software, there is some inherent risk as no software is one The embodiment of a user through an avatar and its hundred percent secure. Putting the actual phenomenological experiences in a synthetic implementation of the program aside, we focus on environment are essentially considered to be real by interactions and actions of users inside the world as a many users. The Avatar is essentially who and what the concern for security. Whereas, the solutions to address user is, and a representation on how they wish to be security issues in virtual worlds are often non-specific perceived online. As Second Life provides a means of and/or vague, there are particular points to note of the communication via text and voice chat, while being able legal impact on security in virtual worlds. to visualize basic avatar body language, important conversational cues can enhance the realism. Making “The security measures that can be taken to help friends and meeting other users coupled with one’s own ensure that electronic communications and experiences and reputation makes these “play” records satisfy the requirements authenticity, environments important. Many users also spend large integrity, non-repudiation, writing and signature, amounts of time creating online businesses, trying to and confidentiality may not yet be readily make an income in real life. Some users also bring much accepted, but their legal effectiveness has already of their real lives into their digital ones. Because of the been recognized, (i.e., Uniform Commercial linking of the real world to the virtual world other Code)” [8, p. 37]. concerns arise which include everything from identity protection, virtual theft, addiction and even issues of As users are represented by avatars (that are often online stalking. The social repercussions of interacting in changing in appearance and form) other users can only be these worlds are not simply artifacts that remain in our identified by their respective screen name. Unlike text online fantasies, but can manifest in our real lives as well. based representations, other users often rely on the "The elements of crimes tend to be physical: they require simulated appearance of other users in combination with physical acts, communications between physical places, their name for identification. One problem that can occur and impact on real physical people" [10]. is that of an avatar not being embodied by a human user, but instead being controlled by an intelligent agent with Looking within the world of Second Life itself, one can self governing behaviors. These software controlled see many interesting areas that touch on many ethical characters often act in realistic ways which cannot always problems that are also often associated with real life. be distinguished as not being a real human user. In the Several topics that should be mentioned include: virtual world, these entities appear exactly the same as a Censorship in virtual worlds, access to pornography and human user and one cannot differentiate who is real and inappropriate content, online gambling via virtual worlds, who is a machine. Some scholars have argued ethical promotion of violence and online harassment. To concerns over the use of autonomous virtual characters as illustrate some of these important issues, the authors have they could potentially harm other users through means of included several images from within Second Life. not cause any real damage, many could view this as offensive and promoting the “glamour” of terrorism. It was also reported that terrorist groups could potentially use virtual worlds to collaborate over long distances via their avatars.

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