How realistic is the idea of an artificial intelligence-assisted, decentralized
and privacy-enhancing future generation of the World Wide Web? Could data governance and other legal tools currently employed to address the various information
violations of Web2—often in an insufficient way—help tackle the new privacy
challenges that Web3 brings about? Tese central questions set the stage for this
Article’s inquiry: how do we (re-) conceptualize privacy challenges in Web3, including in immersive digital spaces, and what is referred to by some as the metaverse?
Te Article begins by describing such immersive virtual spaces as well as their technological foundation. It explains what privacy concerns and risks might stem from
the vast amount of data generated, gathered, and exchanged in our increasingly
artificial intelligence-based immersive, digital world. Most importantly, the Article
argues that in Web3, data has an evolved role; it is not only a valuable resource as
understood in Web1 and Web2, but it is the infrastructure itself. Building on these
notions, the Article introduces the multidimensional conceptualization of how data
exchanges would occur in the metaverse, by distinguishing between three levels of analysis: micro, macro, and meso. Drawing upon ideas from the Complex System
Teory, we examine how information laws and artificial intelligence-related policies and regulations address privacy challenges in each level of data relationship.
Finally, we propose a market-based solution that calls lawmakers to impose privacy
mandatory disclosure obligations concerning compliance with data protection regulation and the use of AI as well as complementary liability regimes. Tis will motivate metaverse entities to self-regulate their AI infrastructures and ensure meaningful privacy protection.