tVPN Admin
Timeline: Key cases & statutes
The cases and statues have been key to shaping our curent understanding of virtual worlds, computer games and social media can be summarised as follows:
1982 Atari v. North American Philips Consumer Elecs., 672 F.2d 607. (infringement)
1982 Williams Electronics v. Artic International, 685 F.2d 870 (3d Cir. 1982) (play as co-authorship)
1983 Apple v. Franklin, 714 F.2d 1240 (3d [...]
Virtual Protest timeline
In-world protest have long been a feature of virtual worlds. What follows is a timeline of the most significant protests that have occurred in virtual worlds.
1992 December: LambdaMOO: LTAND
1996 February: WorldsAway ‘No turfs, no peace’
1997 September: Ultima Online (Beta)
1997 November: Ultima Online
1999 EverQuest: Weekend Warrior Walkout & Sit in
2003 November: EverQuest: ‘Warrior Stand Down’
2004 October: Blog (FFXI) ‘Steal the Gil’
2005 January: [...]
Virtually Policy #1: Dutch Supreme Court on Virtual Theft
In the first Virtually Policy podcast, Arno Lodder, professor of internet governance and regulation at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam talks to Ren Reynolds about the Dutch RuneScape trial.
This case, which made it to the Dutch Supreme Court, centred on the issue of whether or not virtual items can be stolen. The Court concluded that they could, and two [...]
RuneScape Theft – Dutch Supreme Court Decision
On the 31st of January 2012, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands found that items in the online game RuneScape had been stolen from a player. This is a ground-breaking case as it is the highest national court in the West to rule that taking virtual objects in this way is theft under national criminal [...]
Policy Bites: EU Commission’s Proposed Data Protections
On the 25th of January 2012, the European Commission published a set of proposals relating to data protection. The proposals are not law and will not be law unless agreed by the members of the European Union but if they are agreed, they will make large changes the balance of power between EU citizens and all [...]
“I don’t speak on behalf of…” Agile Movements, Fluid Politics and the new Democratic Bargain
Abstract
The internet has brought about a radical shift in politics through three As: Amplification, Association and Agency. The combination of these factors is leaving traditional politics in its wake, yet power is still largely controlled through established institutional structures. This widening gap is problematic for everyone.
Online politics is the flowing, ever-shifting practice of micro-political [...]
US FTC Report to Congress “Virtual Worlds and Kids: Mapping the Risks”
In 2009 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) provided a report to the US congress titled “Virtual Worlds and Kids: Mapping the Risks”. The origin of the report was H.R. 1105 Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 which became Public Law No: 111-8 on 11 th March 2009 which directed the FTC to create a report and a consumer [...]
Online Games impacted by Canadian ISP
In September 2011 CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) reported that Canadian ISP Rogers had used traffic prioritisation (i.e. breaking Net Neutrality) which negatively impacted online computer games.
CBC reports that CRTC (the Canadian Telecoms Regulator) too action after a complaints from the Canadian Gamers Organization. Rogers recognised that the problem impacted World of Warcraft and it is suspect that many other [...]
Council of Europe Exchange on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue
tVPN were commissioned to provide input to the Council of Europe’s 2011 exchange on religious dimension of intercultural dialogue. The focus of the 2011 meeting was:
Media, Beliefs and Religions
“The role of the media in fostering intercultural dialogue, tolerance and mutual understanding: freedom of expression of the media and respect towards cultural and religious diversity”
- Agenda
Text of tVPN [...]
tVPN support IEEE and the VECoLab
the Virtual Policy Network is supporting the creation of a body of practices and standards for virtual environments through the IEEE sponsored Virtual Environment CoLAB (VECoLab). The VECoLab is a group of individuals and organizations working to further the adoption of virtual environments. Its draft charter states:
“Virtual Environments CoLab is hereby established to achieve standardization within [...]
