A "Virtual" Nightmare
Most often the terms of agreement users pretend to read when creating an online account contains a couple lines of fine print which are fixing to start a legal nightmare....
In a way this fine print makes the site and the user dual owners of the "virtual property" obtained in this account. "Virtual Property" is still a rather abstract concept without a definition in any major dictionary (including Urban )..... However, in short it is anything and everything that a person has attached to a username online. For instance your Facebook account which has "Virtual Property"(VP) such as your posts, pictures, farmville character, etc. Your email-account and all your emails are considered VP, and so are your online characters in MMORPG.
Dont jump to conclusions on me.... I am not saying they have given themselves the right to spy on what you do (though I am not saying they cant either.... ). What I am heading towards is part of this policy also means that when a user dies (IN REALITY for you WOW players), the company policy is to terminate and erase the account. Granted many of the people outraged by this are the "virtual spouses" or "virtual gold diggers" with accounts on sites like Second Life. Not to mention the companies are to some extent attempting to maintain their users privacy by eliminating the account. However, in 2004 the family of a fallen soldier sued Yahoo for refusing to give the loved one's password or access to account to his family. They did win in 2005 but without a definitive ruling on the status of such digital assets. Other cases have taken place with sties like Facebook who changed their policy after the VT shooting to allow a deceased users account to become a memorial.
Now I agree that it is bizarre and wrong that the online companies have the right to terminate the accounts rather than turn them over to your family like real assests. HOWEVER, here is the huge problem I see arising if we bring VP into reality. According to the New York Times the United States online users possess over 1 billion dollars in VP. If people actually start owning VP and VP has an actual value, it can and should be taxed.... whats more there should be a VIRTUAL DEATH TAX.... (well it should exist as much as the regular Death Tax).
Furthermore how does the NYT determine this value on our VP, how do we put a value on a Facebook account. Would we start declaring someone's account worth a certain value based on their number of friends, number of posts, or amount of space taken up? What about emails accounts? And are WOW accounts really going to possess value based on their character's level, weapons, and virtual money? IF we give virtual money REAL value... how is it possibly virtual. IF VP become part of reality then the internet will cease to be a free and open source for communication and information.
On a more economic note.... real property is given value on its scarcity.... but virtual property is infinite... ITS VIRTUAL... so IT CANT HAVE VALUE... and yet we do value farmville, "Charlie Bit Me" and some of us enjoy the Runescape, WOW, and Second Life route.
The NTY article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/technology/internet/02assets.html
Posted at 11:41PM Nov 01, 2009 by cjgrice in General | Comments[0]