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Risch, Michael --- "Virtual rule of law" [2018] ELECD 1375; in Barfield, Woodrow; Blitz, J. Marc (eds), "Research Handbook on the Law of Virtual and Augmented Reality" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018) 64

Book Title: Research Handbook on the Law of Virtual and Augmented Reality

Editor(s): Barfield, Woodrow; Blitz, J. Marc

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN: 9781786438584

Section: Chapter 3

Section Title: Virtual rule of law

Author(s): Risch, Michael

Number of pages: 39

Abstract/Description:

The rule of law generally requires that governments announce and follow the laws of land. This allows citizens to know what to expect from their government and to make investments accordingly. Entrepreneurs want to know what activities are legal, whether the government can interfere in business, whether agreements are enforceable, and whether harmful actions by others will be stopped. For this reason, many consider the rule of law a catalyst for economic development, and there is reason to believe that it will be equally important in virtual economies, despite their differences with the real world. As more people turn to virtual worlds for fun and livelihood, the rule of law will become prominent in encouraging investments in virtual business. This chapter considers whether virtual worlds provide a rule of law that sets expectations for virtual life. It is not surprising that—for the most part—they do not; virtual worlds currently lack many of the elements of the rule of law. Which aspects fail is more surprising, however. Provider agreements and computer software, the sources of regulation that are most often criticized as “antiuser,” provide the best theoretical hope for achieving the rule of law, even if they currently fail in practice. On the contrary, widely proposed “reforms,” such as community norms, self-regulation, and importation of real world law face both theoretical and practical barriers to implementation of the rule of law in virtual worlds. These conclusions follow from a four-step analysis.