Erosion of Privacy Rights in Emerging Extended-Reality Technologies
In an excerpt from her new book “Beyond Data,” lawyer Elizabeth M. Renieris discusses the potential erosion of individual and societal privacy rights due to emerging extended-reality (XR) technologies. These technologies, such as emotion detection and affect recognition technologies, neurotechnologies, and XR and other metaversal technologies, raise significant privacy concerns by penetrating deeper into our personal space.
Main Points:
- New technologies threaten to erode the boundaries of our inner lives and inner selves.
- The rendering and datafication of activities into digital information raise traditional and novel data protection concerns.
- XR technologies involve the collection and use of biometric identifiers and measurements, real-time location tracking, and audio and video recording technologies.
- Privacy risks include capturing personal information, tracking and surveilling individuals, and capturing data of bystanders without consent.
- There are few laws or regulations that account for these privacy scenarios.
These technologies not only pose privacy challenges but also have the potential to manipulate and discriminate against individuals. They can persuade, manipulate, or coerce individuals into making choices against their best interests. Additionally, they can create different versions of “reality” for individuals based on their attributes and access to technology.
Hot Take:
Emerging extended-reality technologies raise serious privacy concerns and have the potential to undermine personal autonomy and democratic values. Regulation and a collective approach are needed to address these challenges in a postdigital world.
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