University of Southern California

On January 28, 2008 USC Annenberg School teamed up with Global Kids and the MacArthur Foundation to host an in-world conversation that focused on a myriad of complex issues including; the rights of avatars in virtual worlds, and the place of foundations in fostering debate, identifying problems and creating solutions in non-traditional spaces like those of virtual worlds.   

The discussion was led by Jonathan F. Fanton, President of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Panelists included Robin Harper, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Linden Lab, and Jack Balkin, professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment at Yale Law School. There were130 people in attendance from 9 different countries.

Fanton opened the event noting that he had received positive feedback and messages from his first appearance in Second Life six months earlier during the launch of the Virtual Worlds and the Public Good Opening Ceremony. Sharing why the Foundation is interested in virtual worlds, Fanton said, “It is clear to me that residents of Second Life are interested in helping others and in the great public interest issues of our time. The world’s complex issues often engender fierce debate and seemingly unbridgeable divides. Foundations can provide a neutral and perhaps even safe space for that debate, and support for the emergence of new and creative solutions.”

With that Fanton, a champion for human rights, asked whether or not the “individual rights we have come to expect in a democratic society carry over into virtual worlds.” Jack Balkin began by sharing examples of how the law is already involved in virtual worlds, “in the sense that there legal agreements are made between the user and the administrator.”

Responding from the role of an administrator at Linden Lab, Robin Harper explained how complicated these agreements between end-users and a corporation can be, especially considering that what’s illegal in one country is legal in the next and the result is Linden Lab must prohibit things like gambling, at the risk of infringing upon the rights of people who live in countries where on-line gambling is legal. She said, “Sometimes, we have to make decisions first and foremost that will allow us to continue to operate Second Life. And while some may feel their rights have been aggravated, we feel the worst scenario would have shut down the community.”

Tish Shute, avatar Tara5 Oh, was pleased to see the MacArthur Foundation’s involvement and said, “In the United States foundations can have a critical role in making sure that civil rights are foremost in the dialogue that will define the new digital worlds that people increasingly inhabit.” The event also sparked dialogue on the well-known Terra Nova blog where members explored the difference between an end-user’s rights and the potential rights of an avatar.

Issues of rights for individuals on the Internet are complex, and become further complicated by virtual representation in these online worlds. Aldon Hynes, avatar Aldon Huffhines, Business Editor of Second Life News Network concluded, “It would great to delve into many of the topics in much more detail.”