Spanish Criminal Law in Sexual Crimes Committed in the Metaverse

Applicability and solutions to a present and future problem

Authors

  • Antonio Vasco Gómez Universidad Isabel I

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37467/revvisual.v9.3724

Keywords:

Harassment, Metaverse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual Freedom, Spanish Legal System, Virtual Reality

Abstract

The Metaverse is considered the next evolution of the Internet for providing users with an immersive experience in a virtual world not seen before on the Internet. This new virtual experience will allow users to be part of a new reality that only exists through the screen of a device.
Some examples of activities that emerged in the early days of the Internet and virtual reality could be considered sexual crimes against women. In order to protect potential victims and to promote the use of this new virtual experience among women, these criminal actions should be prosecuted under the Spanish Law.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Acale Sánchez, M. (2019). Violencia sexual de género contra las mujeres adultas. Editorial Reus.

Agencia de la Unión Europea para los Derechos Fundamentales (2018). Violence against women: an EU-wide survey. Publications Office of the European Union. https://is.gd/B4vKyp

Altuzarra Alonso, I. (2020). El delito de violación en el Código Penal español: análisis de la difícil delimitación entre la intimidación de la agresión sexual y el prevalimiento del abuso sexual. Revisión a la luz de la normativa internacional. Estudios de Deusto, 68 (1) (pp. 511-558). https://is.gd/3y9xRm DOI: https://doi.org/10.18543/ed-68(1)-2020pp511-558

Aspell, J., Heydrich, L., Marillier, G., Lavanchy, T., Herbelin, B., y Blanke, O. (2013). Turning body and self inside out: visualized heartbeats alter bodily self-consciousness and tactile perception. Psychol. Sci. 24 (pp. 2445–2453). https://clck.ru/rgYD2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613498395

Balkin, J. M. (2005). Law and Liberty in Virtual Worlds. NYLS Law Review, 49 (1), Article 5 (pp. 63-80). https://cutt.us/urpSE

Barlow, J. P. (08 de febrero de 1996). A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace. Electronic Frontier Foundation. https://clck.ru/fbSMu

Barrera Ibáñez, S. (18 de enero de 2016). Delitos en el mundo virtual: agujeros en la Red. Abogacía española. https://is.gd/RirEal

Barrio Andrés, M. (2011). La ciberdelincuencia en el Derecho Español. Revista de las Cortes Generales, 83 (pp. 273-305). https://cutt.ly/8K2ld1V DOI: https://doi.org/10.33426/rcg/2011/83/473

Belamire, J. (20 de octubre de 2016). My first virtual reality groping. Medium. https://clck.ru/re8Jh

Bem, D. J. (1972). Self-perception theory. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 6 (pp. 1–62). https://is.gd/ize73M DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60024-6

Bobrowski, M. (09 de mayo de 2021a). Big tech seeks its next fortune in the metaverse. The Wall Street Journal. https://clck.ru/re3cd

Botvinick, M., y Cohen, J. (1998). Rubber hands ‘feel’ touch that eyes see. Nature 391, 756. https://clck.ru/rgYGD DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35784

Brey, P. (1999). The ethics of representation and action in virtual reality. Ethics and Information Technology volume 1 (pp. 5–14). https://clck.ru/rgXob DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010069907461

Brownsword, R. (2005). Code, control, and choice: why East is East and West is West. Legal Studies, 25 (1) (pp. 1-21). https://is.gd/Qlv6bk DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-121X.2005.tb00268.x

Brownsword, R. (2022). Law, authority, and respect: three waves of technological disruption. Law, Innovation and Technology, 14(1) (pp. 5-40). https://clck.ru/rgVSY DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17579961.2022.2047517

Bobrowski, M. (26 de octubre de 2021b). Mark Zuckerberg Sets Facebook on Long, Costly Path to Metaverse Reality. The Wall Street Journal. https://clck.ru/re3jb

Burgess-Jackson, K. (1996). Rape: a philosophical investigation. Dartmouth.

Castronova, E. (2004). The Right to Play. New York Law School Law Review, 49 (1), Article 9 (pp. 185-210). https://cutt.us/T92Io

Danaher, J. (2018). The Law and Ethics of Virtual Sexual Assault. En M. Blitz y W. Barfield (eds.), The Law of Virtual and Augmented Reality. Edward Elgar Press. https://acortar.link/UupxVP DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781786438591.00021

De Vicente Martínez, R. (2018). El delito de violación: problemas que plantea su redacción. En P. Faraldo Cabana y M. Acale Sánchez (Dirs.), Un antes y un después en la regulación de los delitos sexuales en España (pp. 171-214). Tirant lo Blanch.

Dibbell, J. (23 de diciembre de 1993). Rape in Cyberspace or How an Evil Clown, a Haitian Trickster Spirit, Two Wizards, and a Cast of Dozens Turned a Database Into a Society. The Village Voice. https://cutt.ly/xKKvztQ DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1220m2w.14

Dunn, J. (2012). Virtual Worlds and Moral Evaluation. The Philosophy of Computer Games Conference. Madrid. https://is.gd/ij5PFz DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-012-9298-6

Epic Games [@FortniteGame]. (06 de mayo de 2020). Fortnite now has over 350 million registered players! In April, players spent over 3.2 billion hours in game [Tweet]. Twitter. https://clck.ru/re4Px

Fairfield, J. A. T. (2009). The magic circle. Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law, 11(4) (pp. 823–840). https://is.gd/yF7jPj

Freuler, S. y Soria Cruz, M. F. (08 de diciembre de 2021). Zuckerberg’s metaverse is a natural extension of capitalist extraction of our data. Open Democracy. https://is.gd/Xr8dfI

Gavilán Rubio, M. (2018). Agresión sexual y abuso con prevalimiento: análisis de la reciente jurisprudencia. Revista de Derecho, Empresa y Sociedad, 12 (pp. 82-95). https://clck.ru/rggaG

Gooskens, G. (2010). The Ethical Status of Virtual Actions. Ethical Perspectives 17(1) (pp. 59–78). https://clck.ru/rfbj2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2143/EP.17.1.2046957

Huizinga, J. (1949). Homo ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture. Routleledge.

iProUP (06 de enero de 2022). El metaverso ya realizó 3 conciertos: ¿cómo les fue a los músicos que los protagonizaron?. iProUP. https://cutt.us/nS3dI

Johansson, M. (2009). Why unreal punishments in response to unreal crimes might actually be a really good thing. Ethics and Information Technology, 11 (pp. 71–79). https://is.gd/St0AER DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-009-9182-1

Katsh, E. (2004). Bringing Online Dispute Resolution to Virtual World: Creating Processes Through Code. NYLS Law Review, 49 (1), Article 12 (pp. 271-291). https://is.gd/nj71tq

Kerr, O. S. (2008). Criminal Law in Virtual Worlds. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 2008 (1) Article 11. (pp. 415-429)https://is.gd/VKynvY

Knox, J. (2022). The Metaverse, or the Serious Business of Tech Frontiers. Postdigital Science and Education, (2022), 4 (pp. 207-215). https://clck.ru/renYx DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-022-00300-9

Koster, R. (27 de agosto de 2000). Declaring the Rights of Players. Raph Koster’s Website. https://clck.ru/rfKG4

Lastowka, F. G. y Hunter, D. (2004). Laws of virtual wordls. California Law Review. Jan2004, Vol. 92 Issue 1 (pp. 3-73) DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3481444

Lenggenhager, B., Tadi, T., Metzinger, T. y Blanke, O. (2007). Video ergo sum: manipulating bodily self-consciuosness. Science, 317 (pp. 1096-1099). https://clck.ru/rgY3y DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1143439

Lemley, M. A., y Volokh, E. (2018). Law, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality. University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 166(5) (pp. 1051-1138). https://clck.ru/rfehs DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2933867

Lessig, L. (2009). El código 2.0 (Trad. M. Acuyo, M. M. Alonso, M. Astorga, S. Burgos, N. Castán, R. Castro, C. Chicón, F.Castro, V. del Río, A. Delgado, C. Dugo, G. Faraguna, C. Felis, C. Flores, M. Florido, B. Galdón, N. Gnisci,L.González, O. Gutiérrez...). Traficantes de Sueños. (Obra original publicada en 2006). https://clck.ru/rgWFJ

Levis, D. (2006). ¿Qué es la realidad virtual?. Academia.edu. https://is.gd/Qn48SM

Lucy, W. (2022). The Death of Law: Another Obituary. Cambridge Law Journal, 81(1) (pp. 109–138). https://is.gd/G428D8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0008197321001021

MacKinnon, R. (1997). Virtual rape. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 2(4) (pp. 1–20). https://clck.ru/rfdxW DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.1997.tb00200.x

Madary, M. y Metzinge, T. (2016). Real Virtuality: A Code of Ethical Conduct. Recommendations for Good Scientific Practice and the Consumers of VR-Technology. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, Vol. 3, Article 3. https://cutt.ly/tK1lnbj DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2016.00003

Magro Servet, V. (2022). Competencia de la jurisdicción española para delitos cometidos por internet dirigidos contra víctimas en España. Diario La Ley, 10099. https://clck.ru/rgjZ8

Maselli, A., y Slater, M. (2013). The building blocks of the full body ownership illusion. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7(83). https://clck.ru/rgYET DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00083

McGlynn, C. (2010). Feminist activism and rape law reform in England and Wales: a Sisyphean struggle?. En C. McGlynn y V. E. Munro. (Eds.), Rethinking rape Law: international and comparative perspectives (pp. 139–153). Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203852194

Mestre Delgado, E. (2004). La reforma permanente como (mala) técnica legislativa en derecho penal. La Ley Penal, Revista de Derecho Penal procesal y Penitenciario, 1 (pp. 7-17). https://clck.ru/rgog8

Montesquieu, C. D. (1748). De l‘esprit des loix. Barrillot & Filk.

Muñoz Conde, F. (2019). La vinculación del juez a la ley y la reforma de los delitos contra la libertad sexual. Algunas reflexiones sobre el caso “La Manada”. Revista Penal, 43 (pp. 290-299)

Murray, J. H. (2020). Virtual/reality: how to tell the difference. Journal of Visual Culture 19.1 (pp. 11-27). https://clck.ru/reonC DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1470412920906253

Nisa Ávila, J. A. (2022). La naturaleza jurídica del Derecho Penal en el metaverso. El Derecho. https://is.gd/IEjqpa

Park, S., Kim, S. P. y Whang, M. (2021). Individual’s Social Perception of Virtual Avatars Embodied with Their Habitual Facial Expressions and Facial Appearance. Sensors, 21(7), 5986. https://clck.ru/repF2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/s21175986

Parlamento Europeo (2022). Metaverse: Opportunities, risks and policy implications. Unión Europea. https://clck.ru/recqS

Peña, J., Hancock, J. T. y Merola, N. A. (2009). The Priming Effects of Avatars in Virtual Settings. Communication Research, 36(6) (pp. 838–856). https://cutt.ly/eKFi1LH DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650209346802

Ramírez, E. J., Tan, J., Elliott, M., Ghandi, M. y Petronio, L. (2020). An ethical code for commercial VR/AR applications. En N. Shaghaghi, F. Lamberti, B. Beams, R. Shariatmadari y A. Ame. (Eds.), 12th EAI International Conference, INTETAIN 2020 Virtual Event, December 12–14, 2020 (pp. 15-24). Springer. https://clck.ru/rfceu DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76426-5_2

Ramos Vázquez, J. L. (2016). Política criminal, cultura y abusos sexuales de menores. Dykinson.

Ratan, R., Beyea, D., Li B. J. y Graciano, L. (2020). Avatar characteristics induce users’ behavioral conformity with small-to-medium effect sizes: a meta-analysis of the proteus effect. Media Psychology, 23:5 (pp. 651-675). https://clck.ru/renXF DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2019.1623698

Reid, E. (1994). Cultural Formations in Text-based Virtual Realities [Tesis doctoral, Universidad de Melburne]. https://clck.ru/rfSKw

Secretaría de Estado de Seguridad (2021). Estudio sobre la cibercriminalidad en España. Ministerio del Interior. Gobierno de España. https://cutt.us/DEHrD

Secretaría de Estado de Seguridad (2021). Informe sobre delitos contra la libertad e indemnidad sexual en España. Ministerio del Interior. Gobierno de España. https://cutt.us/Vx7tG

Sparrow, L., Antonellos, M., Gibbs, M. y Arnold, M. (2020). From ‘Silly’to ‘Scumbag’: Reddit Discussion of a Case of Groping in a Virtual Reality Game [Comunicación por escrito]. Conferencia Internacional DIGRA 2020: Jugar en todas partes. https://clck.ru/re8BP

Strikwerda, L. (2015). Present and Future Instances of Virtual Rape in Light. Philos. Technol. (28) (pp. 491-510). https://clck.ru/renXx DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-014-0167-6

Suárez-Mira Rodríguez, C. y Judel Prieto, A. (2016). Manual de derecho penal. Parte especial (6ª ed., Tomo II). Editorial Civitas.

Suler, J. R. y Phillips, W. L. (1998). The Bad Boys of Cyberspace: Deviant Behavior in a Multimedia Chat Community. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 1, 3 (pp. 275-294). https://cutt.us/QMgx1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.1998.1.275

Torres Fernández, M. E. (2019). Suministro de drogas a otra persona para anular su voluntad con fines delictivos: ¿mito o realidad?. La llamada sumisión química en Derecho penal: Especial referencia a los delitos sexuales. Estudios Penales y Criminológicos, 39 (pp. 655-707). https://cutt.ly/ZK0F57e DOI: https://doi.org/10.15304/epc.39.6274

Yee, N. y Bailenson, J. (2007). The proteus effect: The effect of transformed self-representation on behavior. Human Communication Research, 33(3) (pp. 271–290). https://clck.ru/renz6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2007.00299.x

Wiederhold, B. K. (2022). Ready (or Not) Player One: Initial Musings on the Metaverse. Cyberpshycology, Behavior and Social Networking, 25 (1) (pp. 1-2). https://clck.ru/renYH DOI: https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2021.29234.editorial

Wolfendale, J. (2007). My avatar, my self: Virtual harm and attachment. Ethics and Information Technology, 9 (pp. 111-119). https://clck.ru/rfNCt DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-006-9125-z

Published

2022-11-15

How to Cite

Vasco Gómez, A. . (2022). Spanish Criminal Law in Sexual Crimes Committed in the Metaverse: Applicability and solutions to a present and future problem. VISUAL REVIEW. International Visual Culture Review Revista Internacional De Cultura Visual, 12(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.37467/revvisual.v9.3724