On 24 June 2022, the European Parliamentary Research Service published the document ‘Metaverse: Opportunities, risks and policy implications’.

The authors point out that metaverse – one of the most talked about concepts in modern technology – can be described as an immersive and constant virtual 3D world. In that environment, people interact by means of an avatar to carry out a wide range of activities. Such activities can range from leisure and gaming to professional and commercial interactions, financial transactions or even health interventions such as surgery.

It is also stressed that the exact scope and impact of the metaverse on society and on the economy is still unknown. However, it can already be seen that the metaverse will open up a range of opportunities but also a number of risks in a variety of policy areas.

Major tech companies are currently scaling up their metaverse activities, including through mergers and acquisitions. This has given impetus to a debate on how merger regulations and antitrust law should apply. Business in the metaverse is expected to be underpinned largely by cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens, raising issues of ownership, misuse, interoperability and portability.

One of the indicated aspects of metaverse is also a huge volume of data. This raises a number of data protection and cybersecurity issues. As there is considerable scope for a wide range of illegal and harmful behaviours and practices in the metaverse environment, this makes it essential to consider how to attribute responsibility, inter alia, for fighting illegal and harmful practices and misleading advertising practices, and for protecting intellectual property rights.

Source: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2022)733557