This agreement marks a significant milestone for the University of Alicante as it launches the Meta Chair for the development of the Metaverse. The chair is charged with promoting independent research into the legal and ethical dimensions of the metaverse. A central objective is to examine whether the existing legal framework adequately protects civil rights in the metadata and whether current regulations provide the necessary legal certainty for digital enterprises to scale their operations within this emerging medium. The chair will be led by a tenured professor of Private International Law, who also co-directs the GIP-Law research group at the university. The position is currently held by Aurelio Lopez – Tarruella Martinez and is designed to begin with a flexible initial term of two years, with the possibility of extension.
The chair’s program encompasses a broad spectrum of activities. It plans to publish research articles on pressing metaverse issues, including safeguarding digital identities and personal data in immersive environments, governance of content and experiences, and the adaptation of current regulatory frameworks to digital platforms. Online seminars will tackle controversial topics, and the initiative will culminate each year in a conference that gathers experts of international renown to share insights and perspectives.
To guide these efforts, Lopez-Tarruella will oversee a multidisciplinary team that brings together experts from several leading European institutions. The group includes Susana Navas, a professor of Civil Law at the Autonomous University of Barcelona; Teresa Rodriguez de las Heras, a renowned professor of Commercial Law at Carlos III University; Idoia Salazar, director of the Odyssey project; Louis Ignatius Vincent, a specialist in intellectual property at PONS IP; and Manual Desantes, a professor of Private International Law at the University of Alicante. This diverse leadership is intended to ensure a holistic examination of metaverse issues from civil law, commercial law, privacy, data protection, and cross-border implications.
The Meta Chair is supported as part of the Meta investment initiative through the Research Fund and XR Programs. The program allocation totals 2.5 million dollars, dedicated to sustaining independent academic inquiry across Europe that analyzes both risks and opportunities presented by the metaverse. This funding enables researchers to explore fundamental questions about how digital environments will interact with existing legal doctrines, consumer protections, and international cooperation mechanisms, while also developing practical policy recommendations for regulators and industry stakeholders in Canada, the United States, and beyond.