Virtual Reality (‘VR’) journalism is a developing way of putting audiences directly into the story, be it a natural calamity, conflicts and the like. Whether wearing VR headsets or watching immersive 360-degree videos, those watching the footage become part of the experience, thus enhancing empathy and understanding. However, there are challenges specific to this form of journalism especially at the intersection of privacy, data protection, and potential trauma. These issues demand that even as they strive to uphold the law, journalists in India also show an awareness of and regard towards the rights of the individual.
Rise Of Virtual Reality Journalism
VR journalism allows the audience to “step inside” stories, resulting in not only an understanding of the complexity of issues such as social injustice or humanitarian crisis but also an emotional engagement. By immediacy and realism, VR can excite the audiences’ emotional response much more than any other media. Adding to that, problems related to the ethical and legal concerns that come through the power VR journalists hold on the perception of such events are on the rise. Clear standards are essential for responsible VR journalism.
Ethical Issues In VR Journalism:
Manipulation & Distortion of Reality
Unintentional manipulation by a VR journalism piece would occur because of the journalists’ control of the immersive environment to the angle of camera shot or sound effects in the piece altering the means of evoking certain emotions in viewers. For instance, should a journalist choose to highlight particular scenes in a war, the emotional response by the audience might be swayed accordingly. To retain credibility, it is expected that VR journalists approach every practice with transparency while being able to clarify for audiences whether certain scenes have been digitally altered or recreated so that audiences differentiate facts from artistic interpretations.
Informed Consent
VR journalism could threaten the privacy of those being recorded, more so if the environment is sensitive. The Supreme Court of India’s ruling in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy vs. Union of India declared the right to privacy, drawing journalists’ attention to obtaining prior informed consent from individuals narrated in the stories. In India, in particular, recording an individual without his Judiths consent leads to a breach of privacy with legal repercussions, somewhat more so where vulnerable or in private settings.
Emotional Impact
Because VR journalism is so intensely immersive, it can cause psychological aftereffects. Whereas in traditional media, trauma violence or pain does not affect people’s psyche that strongly, in the world of VR, this is more powerful. Hence, to minimize any chances of undue harm, they should ideally provide content warnings and allow people to turn off graphic content. Also, some form of age-appropriate restriction is, hence, also needed because of the extremely sensitive stories.
Law Of VR Journalism In India:
Privacy & Data Protection
The IT Act of 2000 and the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill provide a wide range of data protection standards, creating a legal climate for VR journalism in India. Any VR media company should be real in tracking any personal data they collect so that they comply with maximalist privacy provisions while relying upon the consent of the research individuals or property they recorded. Violating such provisions without permission may lead to prosecution under Section 66E of the Act, which deals with privacy violations.
Copyright & Intellectual Property
Protectionism must invariably direct VR journalists to comply with the Copyright Act of 1957, which is the rights-respecting copyright that needs to be cleared for unpublished works. VR stories often leverage digital assets in the form of videos, images, and sounds, effectively meshing the need to license material that otherwise runs the risk of infringing on copyright.
Defamation Laws & Picture-clear Representation
India’s defamation laws, have direct relevance to virtual reality journalism. Since this medium tends to purport individual realism, there is the possibility of bringing up a defamation complaint should any misinformation or misrepresentation occur. For instance, if a VR experience misrepresents a person or community, that community or person has a case to argue that reputational loss occurred, hence seeking redress in court. Hence, VR journalists should always feign no inaccuracy and should conduct themselves fairly in their representations to save them from legal problems and thereby save their journalistic integrity in the discharge of their functions.
Ethical Guidelines For VR Journalists:
Informed Consent
VR journalists should prioritize consent to protect the rights of individuals wherever they are filming in public or sensitive areas. This is in accordance with the Indian law concerning privacy rights, assuring ethical integrity through adherence to people’s control over their images.
Emotional Well-being of Viewers
For the intense emotional experiences that VR can create, it is crucial to provide content warnings, especially for graphic scenes. A slightly less intense version of the material might also lessen the possible emotional harm since audiences would actively choose to skip over certain sections.
Accuracy & Transparency
Transparency is important in any effort to prevent misleading the audience. VR journalists should be forthright about the ways they have altered some visuals, so their audience knows what is a fact and what is an enhancement created for dramatic effect. This way, trust is maintained, and there is no chance for manipulation.
Data Protection Laws
Since a VR journalist, while collecting any personal information from the audience, shall comply with data protection laws and information codes, this undertaking will partake of such aspects as encryption of a personal nature, anonymization of all data collected, and security protocols in place to protect such data standards which are necessary in such an instance to ensure the effective safeguarding of viewer data, while ensuring compliance, which will, in turn, engender trust.
Eliminating Stereotyping & Misrepresentation
A multicultural nation like India must refrain from stereotyping or misrepresenting any group. A VR journalist should always try to represent a balanced narration that is inclusive and fair to all cultures and communities. Good ethics in reporting would promote social understanding and shield the community against harm.
Conclusion
Business firms will likely step in as sources of revenue, and they may mark the start of VR Journalism as such by seriously testing innovative ideas. The government is increasingly interested in the issue of governmental regulation of this budding entertainment industry. VR Journalism may substantially influence, change, or transform our lives, from Super Bowl sketch-ups to the revelations of international scandals and events. Accordingly, it may encourage strongly forming some even very broad regulations, while in the meantime its most established practitioners confer forehead to forehead on ethical, philosophical, or even legal issues. Meanwhile, advocacy groups and centres such as Code for Africa have started to educate representatives in Indian VR Journalism. Responsible VR storytelling can inform and inspire audiences while honouring the principles of ethical journalism.
Authors: Mahima Gupta, Rea Parikh & Yukta Bhatia