European Union officials need to better understand the futuristic digital world known as the ‘metaverse’ before they can decide how to regulate it, the head of the EU’s antitrust body said on Tuesday.
The metaverse involves a network of virtual environments accessed through different devices where users can work, socialize and play.
The term has come into focus since Facebook changed its name to Meta last October, as a way to reflect its bet on the new industry.
However, the move has sparked concerns about potential Facebook dominance.
“The metaverse is already here. So of course we start looking at what the role of a regulator will be, what the role of our legislature is,” Margrethe Vestager said at an online event organized by a group of German newspaper editors.
“Everything we do must be based on facts and the information we can get… We need to understand it before we can decide what actions would be appropriate,” said Vestager, who is Denmark’s representative on the European Union’s Executive Committee.
Facebook is already in Vestager’s crosshairs over its data collection and use. Companies can be fined up to 10% of their global turnover if found guilty of violating the bloc’s antitrust rules.
Meta, which bets that the metaverse will be the successor to the mobile internet, has invested heavily in virtual and augmented reality. The company hasn’t shared many details about how brands will monetize in the metaverse.
Source: CNN Brasil
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