TRAIL partners with Meta and Rajah & Tann for Metaverse Conference

Left to right: Mr Jeth Lee (Director of Legal and Government Affairs, Microsoft Singapore); Ms Rahimah Abdulrahim (Director of Public Policy (Southeast Asia), Meta); Associate Professor Daniel Seng (Co-director, TRAIL); Professor David Tan (Co-director, TRAIL); Mr Steve Tan (Partner and Deputy Head of Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Rajah & Tann Asia); Dr Arianne Jimenez (Privacy and Public Policy Manager (APAC), Meta); Mr Yeong Zee Kin (Assistant Chief Executive (Data Innovation and Protection Group), IMDA and Deputy Commissioner, PDPC).

On 20 September 2022, more than 200 industry business leaders, law practitioners, academics and policymakers gathered to discuss and share perspectives on privacy and data protection, intellectual property, criminal liability and choice of laws in the metaverse at a one-day conference organised by the Centre for Technology, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and the Law (TRAIL).

The conference, titled “Understanding the Metaverse: Law, Policy & Practices”, is the first of its kind in Singapore to focus exclusively on the relevance and application of existing law and policies to a kaleidoscope of present and emerging issues in the metaverse space. It is conducted in person on the Bukit Timah Campus and virtually. The conference is co-presented by Meta and leading local law firm Rajah & Tann Asia. It builds on the panel conversations at the recent TechLaw.Fest and IP Week@SG conferences, and is co-convened by Professor David Tan and Associate Professor Daniel Seng from NUS Law.

Together with NUS Law, Meta and Rajah & Tann, other top legal academics, business leaders and policymakers from Chinese University of Hong Kong, Tallinn Law School in Estonia, Microsoft and the Personal Data Protection Commission of Singapore also shared their perspectives on the way forward towards a safer and more secure environment for users of the metaverse. Attendees hail from organisations as diverse as AGC, MinLaw, MCI, MHA, MINDEF, MOH, IMDA, IPOS, CCCS, GovTech, Temasek, Google, ByteDance, Twitter, Ant Group and Boston Consulting Group.

The Experiential VR Session was one of the highlights of the Metaverse Conference. It gave on-site participants the opportunity to experience the metaverse using Oculus headsets and immerse themselves in the various activities through a series of carefully curated apps and platforms that illustrated the issues covered in the conference such as the use of IP and user-generated content, the possibility online harms and psychological distress and the collation of personal information. Participants greatly appreciated this setup, which gave them the opportunity to experience and witness the issues first-hand. The online participants were not left out: with the assistance of the Networks Division at NUS IT and the TRAIL, ITU and AV teams at NUS Law, all the Oculus experiences were streamed online. Associate Professor Daniel Seng, co-director of TRAIL said: “We were privileged to have NUS’ own Interreality Technologies, a specialist division in NUS IT, showcase their Virtual Reality in Agitation Management (VRAM) and The Good Citizen applications. EON Reality, a leader in AR and VR academic and industry training solutions, was also on-site to demonstrate their XR EON-XR platform products. As a multi-disciplinary, multi-school effort, it is heartening to see the various departments in NUS, including the School of Computing, Department of Psychological Medicine, YLLSOM, the Provost Office (NUH Emergency Medicine) and the IRT and Networks Division at NUS IT come together and provide their wholehearted support to TRAIL to make this session possible. Our deepest thanks and appreciation go out to them.”

Professor David Tan, co-director of TRAIL said: “The growing popularity of interaction in virtual spaces – from daily and routine activities such as gaming and shopping, to purchasing assets such as NFTS and cryptocurrencies and even creating personas and avatars in a virtual world or ‘metaverse’ – creates an urgent need for discussions on how data and information collected from physical interactions are integrated into these virtual spaces safely and securely.”

Mr Steve Tan, deputy head of the Technology, Media and Telecommunications practice at Rajah & Tann said: “While the metaverse presents incredible opportunities for innovation, it also raises questions about the applicability of existing laws to the virtual world, and the need for new laws to address the novel legal challenges. Rajah & Tann is delighted to support NUS Law and to help drive this dialogue to address emerging issues at the intersection of law and tech.”

Mr Yeong Zee Kin, Assistant Chief Executive (Data Innovation and Protection Group) of the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA), said: “The metaverse promises to revolutionise the way we live, work, and play. As we venture into the metaverse, we will generate much more data through our interactions. This is a good time to work in close collaboration with the industry and consumers to develop the right safeguards for consumer privacy while enabling innovation in the metaverse.”

Paving the way for frameworks towards better information and data governance in the metaverse

At the Conference, TRAIL also launched a call for proposals for research projects to be funded by the Meta XR (Extended Reality) Programs and Research Fund which will pave the way for forming policies and frameworks to govern privacy and data use. In 2021, TRAIL became one of the first research institutes to receive a grant from Meta to conduct research on privacy and data use in Singapore.

Ms Rahimah Abdulrahim, Director of Public Policy (Southeast Asia) at Meta, said: “Building the metaverse is something that requires an all of industry effort, and Meta won’t be doing this alone. Partnering with other companies, creators, developers, and policymakers will be a crucial part of how we navigate future challenges, and we will be guided by values like economic opportunity, privacy, safety, and equity and inclusion. It is especially important that we build the metaverse responsibly, which is why we’re working closely with the academic community to support research through the Meta XR Programs & Research Fund.”

Prof Tan said that areas of research can include frameworks for bystander privacy, particularly in the context of wearable devices such as augmented reality smart glasses, as well as biometrics and human-computer interaction privacy models, amongst others.

He added: “These research projects aim to accelerate the development of policies in areas such as privacy concerns and the need for consent for data collection from individuals who are subjected to the use of smart devices worn or installed by others around them, and even the treatment and use of ‘inferred data’ that is obtained from our daily interactions with technology such as online transactions or even facial- or fingerprint-recognition-enabled devices. More importantly, these would ultimately lead to better governance and regulation over the use of personal information as lines between our physical and virtual spaces and identities blur.”

The research grants are expected to be awarded early next year, with the research projects expected to be completed by mid-2023.

Professor David Tan (Co-director, TRAIL) kicking off the conference

Associate Professor Daniel Seng (Co-director, TRAIL) launching the Call for Proposals for the Meta XR Programs and Research Fund

Mr Steve Tan (Partner and Deputy Head of Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Rajah & Tann Asia) welcoming participants

Ms Rahimah Abdulrahim (Director of Public Policy (Southeast Asia), Meta) delivering the keynote address

Mr Yeong Zee Kin (Assistant Chief Executive (Data Innovation and Protection Group), IMDA and Deputy Commissioner, PDPC) explains the three-archetypes framework

Mr Jeth Lee (Director of Legal and Government Affairs, Microsoft Singapore) provides his perspectives on a new computing paradigm

Professor David Tan facilitates a plenary session discussion in the morning – left to right: Mr Jeth Lee, Dr Arianne Jimenez, Mr Steve Tan and Mr Yeong Zee Kin

Mr Mark Lim (IPOS) enjoying his VR session with Mr Andy Leck (Baker McKenzie) looking on

Conference participants enjoying their VR experience before lunch

Conference participants enjoying their VR experience before lunch

Professor Tan Cheng Han (NUS Law) presenting “An Overview of the Legal Issues arising from the Metaverse” in Session 1 in the afternoon

Associate Professor Terence Sim (School of Computing, NUS) explaining “What Does Your Wearable Device Reveal About You?” in Session 1

Mr Benjamin Wong (NUS Law) takes the audience through “Data Protection Issues arising from the Metaverse” in Session 1

Mr Joseph Lau (NUS Law) on the intricacies of the “Choice of Law Problems Relating to Infringements in the Metaverse” in Session 2

Professor Tanel Kerikmäe (Tallinn Law School) wrapping up the conference with his views on “How to Regulate the Undefined?: Legal Paradoxes of Virtual Reality”

The audience enjoying a light-hearted moment from a panel discussion