الاستخدام غير المشروع جزائياً للصُوّر الرمزيّة الافتراضيّة "الافاتار" في تقنيّة الميتافيرس

Mohannad Walid Al-Haddad

doi:10.35516/Law.2026.12763

Authors

Mohannad Walid Al-Haddad Department of Public Law, College of Law, Jerash University, Jerash, Jordan. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1631-3218

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35516/Law.2026.12763

Keywords:

Metaverse technology, virtual world, augmented reality, Avatars, cybercrime

Abstract

Objectives: This study examines the criminally illegal use of virtual avatars in the metaverse, which has become an attractive environment for cybercrime due to the functional and interactive features of avatars. Such activities include offenses against property and persons, including virtual sexual exploitation. The study aims to assess the readiness of cybercrime law to confront avatar-related criminal activities in the metaverse and to propose a legal vision for applying criminal liability to these acts.

Methods: The study employed three research methods: a descriptive method to identify the phenomenon of criminal attacks involving virtual avatars; an analytical method to examine legal and jurisprudential positions on criminal liability for the illegal use of avatars; and a comparative method focusing on Jordanian cybercrime legislation, with reference to British law where relevant.

Results: The findings indicate that the metaverse represents an emerging technological environment that existing cybercrime laws are largely ill-equipped to regulate. Many forms of avatar-related misconduct fall outside current legal frameworks. The study emphasizes the need for Jordanian lawmakers to reconsider cybercrime legislation and to explore the adoption of a form of virtual legal personality for avatars to enable effective criminal accountability.

Conclusions: The study concludes that some metaverse-related attacks may fall under cybercrime law when their effects extend into the real world. However, other attacks remain unregulated despite their serious psychological impact on users, highlighting the need for explicit criminalization within future legal reforms.

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