Regulating the metaverse

Global Counsel hosted a discussion and drinks reception on the regulation of the metaverse and presented original research on attitudes towards regulating the metaverse.

The key discussion points from the event include:

• Public attitudes and views of opinion formers suggest the metaverse will be scrutinised closely, an issue reinforced by discussions with the panellists. Our survey of the UK public found that people were somewhat apprehensive of the metaverse, showing interest in trying it out but also significant concern about risks including social isolation and online abuse. When asked about interventions, 74% agreed that the Government needs to heavily regulate the metaverse to ensure it is safe and prosperous. Melanie Dawes, Chief Executive of Ofcom, spoke of how this was an area Ofcom was already beginning to explore and scope out alongside other digital regulators, and that they were committed to protecting users regardless of the technology used to consume content in the future.
   
• However, there is a lack of clarity in defining the metaverse, with the public, opinion former interviewees and event panellists suggesting differing variations of what it could become. Awareness amongst the public of the metaverse is currently limited, with fewer than 4 in 10 of the UK public claiming that they knew anything about the concept beyond the name – and those who are aware of it associating it narrowly with social media and gaming. Even when speaking with regulators, business leaders, academics and journalists, differing definitions of the metaverse emerged, with the discussion during the event turning to whether there will be a singular Metaverse or a series of metaverses or virtual worlds. Roger Taylor, previous Chair of the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, spoke to the issue of data security and privacy in the metaverse and he argued that current regulation, such as GDPR, would not be able to fully protect people’s data in the metaverse.
   
• This means a focus initially on applying current regulatory frameworks to technologies as they develop and ensuring that they remain technology agnostic. Melanie Dawes spoke about Ofcom’s upcoming role as the online safety regulator and the powers that the Online Safety Bill would grant them to prevent, address and hold companies to account for safety issues on their platforms. When asked how that role could change with the growth of the metaverse, she argued that the Bill’s principle-based, technology-agnostic approach would allow Ofcom to apply the same standards to the metaverse as it will on traditional social media platforms. She suggested however that this was an ongoing conversation, and that the regulators continued to explore how their role could change with the growth of new technologies.
   
• One major early priority which came out in the opinion former research and last night's discussion was interoperability. When we asked opinion formers to provide a definition of the metaverse, ‘interoperability’ was the most used word by some margin, and throughout last night’s discussion panellists and attendees returned to this issue. What interoperability will mean in practice and whether the concept is achievable were two open questions put to our panellists and opinion formers, with the conclusion largely being that these answers will only emerge as the metaverse begins to take off. However, there was consensus that competition regulators should intervene to prevent a small handful of companies from exerting overly dominant market power in the metaverse.