Compliance Officer or Police Officer

One of the benefits to businesses under the language of the Sarbaine-Oxley Act is to negate corporate responsibilities if a Compliance Officer is appointed to advise corporate officials of any potential federal violations, and if the potential then exist how best in bringing them back into compliance. This came about following the tragic demise of the Enron accounting debacle.

Recently, Founder Linden Lab's virtual world, Second Life, has come under close federal scrutiny when the founder alerted federal FBI agents of possible wrong-doings in the virtual world's casino playground. The founder took the right step of alerting federal authorities about the legality of the world's many gambling sites. Although, potentially, as the story revealed, FBI Checks Gambling in Second Life Virtual World, Wednesday, April 04, 2007, Lab could potentially face criminal charges over this matter, the issue of the world's gaming industry is questionable at best.

Not only is the site perhaps in violation (every avatar is presumed innocent until proven guilty) of federal criminal gaming statutes, but the exchange of currency, will, I suspect, become a target of inquiry for the U.S. Secret Service. (I can only wonder if the gambling avatar is entitled to any constitutional protections. If enemy combatants are not, then why should an avatar be granted constitutional protections? If an avatar is unlawfully detained is it entitled to Habeas review? For all those who not up on their Habeas understandings, it's about the process not the person). But we'll leave this matter to federal authorities and the courts to decide.

From my perspective, the site sounds somewhat questionable insofar as the similarities are striking to a street vice operation. If, for example, I phone my next door neighbor booky, over a hardline, with a two hundred dollar bet on the UMass Football Team and the other end accepts the bet, then ultimately both parties become subject to criminal gambling prosecution. Thus, placing a bet at your favorite virtual world casino is no different than placing a telephone bet (actually the hardline or broadband is being used to access the internet). Coupled with Congress's aggressive stance on the ills of Internet gambling, this doesn't look good for Lab.

A while ago we discussed the language of a proposed Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR") process, and how cool it would be to serve the interest of those trivial infractions, such as spitting on my lawn, or the likely hood of trespass to chattels. But this gambling matter is just the tip of the ice berg. You're going to see a lot more criminal activity in the Second Life than Lab is able to monitor (may be he should retain the sleazy services of the Wal-Mart surveillance team). This type of activity will only encourage those, whose identities are undisclosed, to partake in more serious virtual crimes. The time spent on ADR should be secondary to policing the area for criminal activity.

To all those Yale law professors, OIT experts, and business managers, now's the time your expertise on how best to anticipate and correct potential criminal activity is required. ADR doesn't address, and never shall, the potential criminal liabilities of those held responsible for online violent or vice actions (or interactions). ADR is moot when you're sitting in a 3 by 6 jail cell. Also, those who help design this world are potential defendants (I wonder if the civil and criminal language of RICO applies in the virtual world?) This is a wake-up call!

In past class sessions, I suggested that the world could be used to upload an ariel photo of NYC and provide terrorist members the ability and tools to rehearse a massive terrorist attack. Most agreed but took this with a grain of salt, so to speak. Well folks, if you think this is unsalable logic then just pay attention to how the world's once innocent landscape is about to turn dark, dirty and very criminal.

These avatars can become just as violent and dangerous as their street counterparts.

More to come!