You're navigating security and privacy concerns in VR data handling. How do you ensure stakeholder trust?

VR Data Risks: Identify and communicate potential security and privacy risks associated with VR data. Transparency First: Maintain transparency with stakeholders about data collection, usage, and protection practices. Consent Matters: Obtain explicit consent from users for data collection and ensure they are informed about their rights. Secure by Design: Implement robust security measures in the VR system from the outset to protect data integrity and confidentiality. Data Minimization: Collect only the necessary data to minimize exposure and reduce potential risks. Continuous Improvement: Regularly update security protocols and privacy policies to adapt to new threats and regulations.

Leaving aside the practical issue of where to display privacy notices while using HMDs, it is unclear whether a written privacy notice that sets out all possible forms of processing can really ensure understanding and transparency. Privacy notices are likely to break the 100-page barrier, making them almost impossible for users to internalise and understand. As a result, the layered approach to privacy notices is a sensible strategy for the metaverse. This means providing the necessary information in stages. The first level contains only the most important information, in a clear and compact form, while the next level – accessible by means such as links on the first level – provides more detailed information on the data processing.

A broad "User consent for data collection" may not be sufficient and even unlawful in many jurisdictions. Processing of Personal Data requires VR companies to distinguish between various Purposes of Processing! You can't use a user's consent to create a user profile for analyzing behavioral data or for marketing purposes ("Principle of Purpose Limitation"). Even though this seems to be common sense, my experience is that this common sense is quickly turned off when a project is driven by numbers like revenues and profit margins. Also note that in many jurisdictions, consent is not the only legal basis for Processing Personal Data. E.g. the EU-GDPR allow for "overriding legitimate interests" or "necessity for the performance of a contract"