Empowering personal data sovereignty in hyper-realistic Metaverse avatars through blockchain technology

Avatars are digital representations of oneself used within virtual environments to portray ourselves in the form of our choice. Avatars have taken many shapes and styles since their first appearance in the digital domain. Because of this, new digital environments, such as Metaverse ones, will require a reinvention of this concept, one where it will gain more importance. The better the avatar, the more immersive and realistic the Metaverse experience. In this context, Meta is currently working on a new form of avatars, hyper-realistic ones, which perfectly mimic a full-body digital image of a person. While the possibilities this kind of avatar might entail for immersion and entertainment are undoubted, the risks the use of these avatars might entail from a privacy and data protection perspective are yet to be seen. Considering the quantity and nature of data collected and processed to create these avatars, they can be considered personal data and, in some cases, even biometric data. Thus, in the European Union, the processing of such personal and biometric data should comply with several restrictive conditions imposed by the General Data Protection Regulation. This paper will discuss the lack of clarity about the legal status of personal data from Metaverse avatars. Further, the contribution will propose using blockchain technology as a privacy-enhancing technology, which might help Metaverse users retain control of their personal data. In this regard, blockchain offers a promising alternative due to its decentralized, immutable and transparent nature maintaining privacy and confidentiality at the same time. Finally, the paper will examine the potential benefits of using blockchain technology to ensure avatar interoperability between virtual worlds in the Metaverse from a legal perspective.