Avatars are people too, South Korea court rules in Plave libel case

A recent court decision involving defamation against a virtual K-pop group is prompting fresh legal debate in South Korea over the rights of digital personas – with analysts describing it as a significant shift in how the law defines harm, identity and expression in the age of the metaverse.
The case centred on Plave, a five-member boy band whose anime-style avatars exist solely in the virtual realm but are voiced and animated by real-life performers using motion-capture technology.
Despite…