Ethical Issues, Challenges and Solutions in Metaverse and Web3, Vol II

Web3, the “Internet of Value”, increasingly operates in tandem with immersive metaverse environments, creating a data and asset economy built on blockchain, tokens and decentralised identity, in which personalised data is collected at unprecedented scale and trust is essential. The first volume of this Research Topic examined the ethical challenges this raises. Since it closed, the landscape has moved considerably. Immersive and Web3 environments are no longer primarily spaces for commerce and social interaction; they increasingly host autonomous and agentic AI systems that transact, negotiate and make decisions on users’ behalf, often through wallets, smart contracts and tokenised assets, and across jurisdictions with no shared governance framework. At the same time, the data these environments generate (behavioural, biometric, financial and, increasingly, health-related) routinely crosses borders through cloud and platform infrastructure that few users or regulators fully understand, raising unresolved questions of data sovereignty, consent and accountability that decentralised architectures can either mitigate or deepen.Volume II continues the full scope of the collection and gives particular weight to these new dimensions. We welcome submissions on ethical issues, challenges and solutions in the following areas:1. Foundations and governance- Ethics frameworks and standards for Web3 and the metaverse, including the role of ethically driven leadership in shaping them (for example in relation to the UN SDG agenda and a Universal Code of Digital Ethics).- Decentralised governance (DAOs, on-chain voting, token-based rights) and the societal, economic and environmental impact of blockchain-based virtual economies, including alignment with ESG goals.- Market failures and regulatory remedies, including comparative analysis across jurisdictions, the regulation of tokenised assets, and proposals for workable governance models.2. Data, privacy, security and consent- Ethical risks in collecting, storing and sharing personal data on and off chain, including data ownership and protection, and the cross-border governance and sovereignty of data generated in immersive environments.- How interface design (wallets, consent flows, smart-contract interactions) affects users’ comprehension of material and their perception of voluntariness when giving digital consent.- Security of the networks and blockchain infrastructure underpinning metaverse platforms, including cybersecurity, key and identity management, protection of personally identifiable information, and the prevention of online and offline harm.3. Identity, assets and rights- Self-sovereign identity and identity preservation, including digital identity, biometric data and embodiment in immersive environments, and the ethical frameworks needed to govern their use.- NFTs and verifiable credentials as digital verification, including for KYC, and the ownership of digital assets.- Ethical issues around intellectual property, trademarks and copyright for NFTs and other metaverse assets.4. Technologies and infrastructure- AI agents acting on behalf of users in Web3 and virtual environments: autonomy, liability and consent when agents hold wallets, sign transactions or execute smart contracts.- The convergence of Web3 with AI, IoT and wearables in immersive environments, and the application of digital twins.- Architecture, functionalities, interfaces, interoperability and connectivity of blockchain-based metaverse systems, and the ethical risks of this infrastructure, including infrastructural control and power: who governs the cloud, identity and compute layers beneath metaverse and Web3 platforms, how far decentralised alternatives change that concentration, and what it means for user rights.- Integration of applications and services between virtual and real worlds, and Web3 for decentralised science.5. Applications and users- Blockchain-enabled metaverse applications in education and health care, including health data and mental health, and their ethical implications.- Gamification and tokenised incentives in the metaverse and Web3.- Accessibility and inclusion (for example XR and goggles), and equity of access: who is included in, and excluded from, the economic and social value these systems generate.- Human experience in blockchain-based immersive environments, including technology-related suffering and compassion-centred approaches to the design and governance of Web3 platforms, wallets and virtual economies.- Trustworthiness of metaverse systems and child online protection.As with Volume I, the aim is to bring together rigorous, solutions-oriented scholarship rather than purely descriptive accounts of emerging risks. Topic editors: Jane Thomason, Ingrid Vasiliu Feltes, Beautiful Existence Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/87052/ethical-issues-challenges-and-solutions-in-metaverse-and-web3-vol-ii