Virtual crime

Virtual crime, can be described as a criminal act conducted in a virtual world -- usually massively multiplayer online role-playing games, MMORPGs. To grasp the definition of virtual crime, the modern interpretation of the term "virtual" must be assessed to portray the implications of virtual crime. In this sense, virtual crime describes those online acts that “evoke the effects of real crime” but are not widely considered to be prosecutable acts.^[1]

There are several interpretations of the term "virtual crime". One scholar defined virtual crime as needing to have all the qualities of a real crime, and so it was not a new subset of crime at all.^[2] It is difficult to prove that there are real-life implications of virtual crime, thus it is not widely accepted as prosecutable.^[2]

Examples of virtual crimes include; mugging, sexual assault, theft, construction of sweatshops — all of which are usually committed within virtual worlds, metaverses and economies.^[3]^[4]

^ Cf. Brenner, Virtual Crime, 4 Cal. Crim. Law Rev. 1 at ¶125-27
^ ^a ^b Brenner, Susan (2001). "Is There Such a Thing as 'Virtual Crime'?". California Criminal Law Review. 4 (1).
^ Newton, Casey (2021-07-22). "Mark Zuckerberg is betting Facebook's future on the metaverse". The Verge. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
^ Nazir, Mohamed; Lui, Carrie Siu Man (2016-04-10). "A Brief History of Virtual Economy". Journal for Virtual Worlds Research. 9 (1). doi:10.4101/jvwr.v9i1.7179. ISSN 1941-8477.

[1] Cf. Brenner, Virtual Crime, 4 Cal. Crim. Law Rev. 1 at ¶125-27

[:1-2] Brenner, Susan (2001). "Is There Such a Thing as 'Virtual Crime'?". California Criminal Law Review. 4 (1).

[:0-3] Newton, Casey (2021-07-22). "Mark Zuckerberg is betting Facebook's future on the metaverse". The Verge. Retrieved 2023-11-06.

[:2-4] Nazir, Mohamed; Lui, Carrie Siu Man (2016-04-10). "A Brief History of Virtual Economy". Journal for Virtual Worlds Research. 9 (1). doi:10.4101/jvwr.v9i1.7179. ISSN 1941-8477.

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