This is the programme for the second day of the Virtual Worlds discussing various aspects of virtual realities and its governance.
Dive into the digital public sphere with us, where we explore the development and governance of digital and virtual platforms.
The Virtual Worlds, Real Challenges conference will critically examine how emerging technologies are reshaping the online public sphere. Bringing together experts from across the globe, the conference seeks to foster critical reflection on both the challenges and opportunities presented by a digital public sphere increasingly influenced by technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), digital platforms, and artificial intelligence (AI).
The speakers include academics, activists, and professionals from a wide range of disciplines. Through these diverse perspectives, the conference will explore the impact of emerging technologies on democratic rights, privacy, copyright, public participation, cultural heritage, and mental health, as well as the opportunities the online public sphere offers for advancing these values.
The conference is organized within the framework of the DIGI-APPS project at Tilburg Law School (funded by the NWO).
Good to know
Highlights
- 6 hours 30 minutes
- Online
Location
Online event
Agenda
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Who Rules? Power, Governance, and Accountability in Digital and Virtual Worlds
This panel explores how power, governance, and accountability are being negotiated in digital and virtual worlds. Bringing together perspectives on platform governance, online safety, and digital regulation, it examines the growing tensions between innovation, sovereignty, consumer protection, and fundamental rights and how regulatory frameworks are grappling with these tensions in multiple jurisdictions such as the EU, UK, US, China and India. Overall, the panel reflects on the challenges of governing increasingly complex digital environments in a fragmented and multipolar regulatory landscape.
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Digital Polities: Democracy and Justice in Digital and Virtual Worlds
This panel examines how democracy and justice are being reconfigured in digital and virtual worlds, where private corporate actors increasingly shape access to information, visibility, and participation and even our conceptualization of the nature and function of digital and virtual worlds. It explores the role of platform architectures and recommender systems in conditioning public opinion, and the constitutional tensions this creates for pluralism and freedom of expression, particularly in light of regulatory efforts such as the Digital Services Act. The panel also considers whether existing frameworks of epistemic and informational justice can adequately address structural inequalities in access to knowledge and communication. Overall, it reflects on how more inclusive, accountable, and democratic digital polities can be imagined and sustained, and what governance models this may require. Chair: Roos van der Jagt, Earth Rising Foundation and Wonder Studios, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
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Code, Contracts and Commerce: Regulating commerce in digital and virtual world
As economic activity migrates onto digital platforms and virtual environments, traditional principles of commercial and contract law are being tested in novel ways. This panel explores how smart contracts, platform terms, and user interactions reshape concepts such as consent, liability, and enforcement. It will also examine whether existing legal frameworks can adequately govern transactions in decentralized and immersive spaces, or whether new approaches are required.