Muhammad Irfan Khalid

• Khalid, Muhammad Irfan; Pappas, Ilias; Mahmoud, Moatasim & Rizou, Stamatia (2026). Ethical and Regulatory Challenges of Metaverse Marketing: Empirical Insights from Experts and Practitioners. 17th Scandinavian Conference on Information Systems (SCIS). doi: https:/aisel.aisnet.org/scis2026/10/. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Marketing in the metaverse is growing rapidly and so are the ethical problems that come with it. Platforms like Roblox, Meta Horizon and Decentraland collect detailed biometric and behavioral data from users as part of their marketing infrastructure, yet existing EU regulations: the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Digital Markets Act, (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA) were not designed with these environments in mind. This gap leaves marketers, developers and regulators unsure of how to act. We interviewed 17 experts from three groups including technology developers, marketing professionals and legal and policy specialists to understand how metaverse marketing works in practice and where current rules fall short. Our analysis directed by Gioia methodology produced four aggregate dimensions: data privacy strains in immersive marketing, transparency and ethical gaps in immersive advertising, jurisdiction and accountability gaps and the need for adaptive regulatory frameworks. Together, these dimensions indicate that consumer protection in immersive environments requires both incremental adaptation of existing laws and the co-creation of ethics-by-design practices.

• Khalid, Muhammad Irfan (2026). When Immersion Obscures Ethics: An Empirical Study of End User Perceptions of Data Practices in Metaverse Marketing | Springer Nature Link. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS). ISSN 0302-9743. 16912, p. 155–170. doi: 10.1007/978-3-032-38014-2_13. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study explores how end users perceive ethical issues in metaverse marketing, an area that existing information systems (IS) theories have not sufficiently addressed. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 16 metaverse users from Decentraland, Roblox and Meta Horizon. Using the Gioia methodology, our thematic analysis identified four key dimensions shaping user experience: gaps in privacy awareness and lack of control, problems with consent including dysfunction and fatigue, imbalances of trust and power, and concerns about transparency and fairness. Based on these findings, we make three theoretical contributions grounded in IS research. First, we introduce the concept of immersive blindness, describing how users ability to evaluate privacy trade-offs is significantly constrained in highly immersive environments. Second, we propose spatial capitalism, a conceptually distinct extension of surveillance capitalism that addresses embodied, presence-triggered data extraction in three dimensional (3D) environments; a form of data collection that is qualitatively different from two dimensional (2D) behavioral tracking and requires new theoretical tools. Third, we argue that the sociotechnical design of metaverse platforms disrupts contextual integrity in ways that existing general data protection regulation (GDPR) consent mechanisms do not fully address at the level of user experience, perceived legitimacy, or ethical adequacy even where formal legal compliance is maintained. These contributions have important implications for future IS research on privacy, platform governance and the design of ethical information systems particularly those used for marketing in the metaverse.

• Khalid, Muhammad Irfan; Pappas, Ilias; Mahmoud, Moatasim & Rizou, Stamatia (2026). Understanding Stakeholder Divergence in Ethical and Regulatory Perceptions of Metaverse Marketing: Evidence from a Qualitative Study. UK Academy for Information Systems Conference . doi: https:/aisel.aisnet.org/ukais2026/18/. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study investigates how developers, marketers and regulators perceive ethical and regulatory challenges in metaverse marketing. As immersive digital environments expand, they offer novel engagement opportunities while at the same time raising concerns about privacy, manipulation and platform governance. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 participants across these stakeholder groups and analyzed the data using thematic analysis. Results reveal role-specific differences: developers emphasize technical feasibility and the need for regulatory clarity; marketers focus on creative innovation and brand safety; regulators prioritize user protection and enforcement of legal frameworks. While all stakeholders agree that trust and safety are crucial for sustainable metaverse marketing, they diverge on data practices, responsibility allocation and the scope of regulation. By providing one of the first multi-stakeholder empirical studies in this area, our research contributes to stakeholder theory and platform governance by highlighting the importance of collaborative approaches to ensure ethically responsible and legally robust metaverse marketing ecosystems.

• Cordoba, Francisco Jose; Khalid, Muhammad Irfan & Themistocleous, Marinos (2026). Benchmarking Privacy Compliance in EU Crypto-Asset Markets: A Quantitative Analysis of GDPR and MiCA Implementation. Proceedings of the American Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS). ISSN 3066-8743. 2026. doi: https:/aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2026/sig_sec/sig_sec/21/. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), yet decentralized enforcement across 27 member states creates uncertainty about actual privacy compliance. This study presents the first quantitative benchmarking of Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) privacy practices in the post-MiCA context. Using a validated 14-item rubric grounded in GDPR Articles 5 to 35, MiCA Articles 60 to 65, and NIST/ISO standards, privacy policies from 27 CASPs across twelve EU jurisdictions were assessed across five weighted dimensions (Cohen's kappa >= 0.80). Results reveal fragmentation: scores range from 2.45 to 4.87 with a 1.82-point gap between the top and bottom jurisdictions. Crypto-specific provisions scored lowest (mean = 2.61), three times more variable than transparency. Compliance correlates with regulatory maturity (r = 0.682, p = 0.043, large effect) evidencing a privacy lottery for EU consumers and informing post MiCA policy.

• Khalid, Muhammad Irfan; Pappas, Ilias; Mahmoud, Moatasim & Rizou, Stamatia (2026). The Convergence of Digital Marketing, Ethics, and the Metaverse: An Integrative Systematic Literature Review of Reviews. AIS Transactions on Human-Computer Interaction. 18(2), p. 269–318. doi: 10.17705/1thci.00245. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Driven by advances in augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and artificial intelligence (AI), the metaverse has begun to reshape digital marketing while raising complex ethical challenges. We conducted a systematic literature review to analyze 50 peer-reviewed literature reviews (2019–2024) from Scopus and AISeL with a focus on digital marketing, branding, and the metaverse. We mapped objectives, themes, contribution types, publication outlets, and methodologies based on which we identified most contributions as theoretical (68%) followed by empirical (16%), methodological (12%), and opinion based (4%), while PRISMA emerged as the dominant reporting standard. Through a meta-synthesis, we identified and analyzed four core ethical dimensions: privacy, transparency, authenticity, and fairness. By integrating insights across fragmented domains, the review highlights how these ethical challenges intersect and require interdisciplinary responses that involve marketers, platform providers, policymakers, and consumers. We advance theoretical implications by linking immersive marketing to foundational perspectives such as privacy theory, media richness, self-determination, and algorithmic transparency while also outlining nine actionable implications for practice and future research. In doing so, we establish a foundation for responsible, inclusive, and sustainable digital marketing in the metaverse.

• Khalid, Muhammad Irfan (2025). Rethinking Digital Marketing Ethics in the Metaverse: A Framework for Responsible Engagement. In Achilleos, Achilleas; Forti, Stefano; Papadopoulos, George Angelos & Pappas, Ilias (Ed.), Pervasive Digital Services for People’s Well-Being, Inclusion and Sustainable Development. Springer. ISSN 9783032061638. p. 362–377. doi: 10.1007/978-3-032-06164-5_26. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The metaverse opens new possibilities for digital marketing but also raises serious ethical concerns, especially around privacy, transparency, and consumer protection. Existing regulations such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Artificial intelligence Act (AI Act), the Digital Service Act (DSA), Digital Markets Act (DMA), and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act COPPA (US) offer important ethical principles for digital environments but fall short in addressing the real-time, biometric driven nature of metaverse interactions. This paper presents a comparative analysis of these frameworks, highlighting the regulatory gaps specific to metaverse marketing. To address these gaps, we propose a five-pillar ethical framework that promotes responsible, user-centered marketing in immersive environments. Our analysis concludes that while existing regulations provide a foundation, updated guidance and industry-led practices are essential to ensure user trust, autonomy, and well-being in the evolving digital landscape.

• Nombakuse, Ronaldo; Messerschmidt, Nils; Tsibolane, Pitso & Khalid, Muhammad Irfan (2025). Beyond Accessibility: How Intelligent Assistive Technologies Improve Activities of Daily Life for Visually Impaired People in South Africa. Proceedings of the 59th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences . doi: https:/scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/items/11b20496-d633-4b54-97fb-6c23787923ea. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Our study explores how intelligent assistive technologies (IATs) can enable visually impaired people (VIPs) to overcome barriers to inclusion in a digital society to ultimately improve their quality of life. Drawing on the Social Model of Disability (SMD), which frames disability as a consequence of social and institutional barriers rather than individual impairments, we employ semi-structured interviews and an online qualitative survey with n=61 VIPs in South Africa. Using descriptive statistics and Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), we uncover nine configurations, clustered along three broader combinations of conditions, that support and hinder IAT-mediated inclusion. Most notably, we identify that the autonomy of VIPs and the accessibility of IATs are primary predictors of IAT's ability to achieve social participation. Our findings contribute to Information Systems (IS) literature at the intersection of technology and social participation. We further formulate implications for research and policymakers to foster social inclusion of VIPs in the Global South.

• Khalid, Muhammad Irfan; Pappas, Ilias; Mahmoud, Moatasim & Rizou, Stamatia (2025). Building Metaverse Responsibly: Findings from Interviews with Experts. Mediterranean Conference on Information Systems (MCIS). doi: https:/aisel.aisnet.org/mcis2025/32/. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The metaverse promises unprecedented immersive digital experiences but also raises critical privacy concerns as vast amounts of personal and behavioural data are collected. As immersive technologies blur the boundaries between physical and virtual realms, established privacy standards are being challenged. However, little is known about how the experts of these technologies (such as requirement analysts, designers, developers, and architects) perceive and address privacy issues in the creation of metaverse platforms. This research aims to fill that gap by investigating privacy considerations in metaverse development from the expert’s perspective. We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with metaverse platform and application experts to explore their views on privacy challenges and practices. The findings offer new empirical insights by extending information systems privacy research into the metaverse context, highlighting the interplay between technological design, user behaviour, and regulatory structures. Practically, this work provides guidance for developers, and policymakers on implementing privacy-by-design principles, educating and empowering users, and proactively addressing novel privacy threats in metaverses.

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