Stakeholders and academia agreed that the metaverse will be a highly collaborative world, where thousands of companies will be working together, and which would require seamless interoperability. However, even though the metaverse is currently at a very early stage of its development, it already poses some regulatory challenges and policy issues in different areas, including on data protection, liability, accessibility and inclusiveness.
Regulatory challenges and policy implications of the metaverse were discussed during a hearing organised by the European Parliament's Legal Affairs (JURI) committee on 24 April 2023.
On its side, the European Commission is seeking feedback until 3 May 2023 with a view of adopting a non-legislative initiative on virtual worlds. The initiative, which was initially expected on 31 May 2023, has been postponed to 21 June 2023.
The Commission said, "the initiative will take a proactive approach for the EU to shape the global development of [virtual worlds] based on openness, interoperability and EU values”.
(...)
Clients of our European Digital Economy service, can also access it directly on our client portal via the following link:
more news
11 September 25
EU initiatives to foster satellite connectivity
Our new Tracker covers the Commission’s flagship initiatives in relation to satellite infrastructure, satellite spectrum and new converged services like direct-to-device (D2D). It also covers the EU’s preparations for the World Radiocommunication Conference 2027 (WRC-27), where satellite is on the agenda.
11 September 25
[INFOGRAPHIC] Top 10 European antitrust fines on Big Tech
The European Commission’s €2.95bn fine against Google is the latest in a string of hefty antitrust penalties that competition authorities in Europe have imposed on US Big Tech firms. Cullen International’s infographic provides an overview of these fines, putting them in context and showing how they are calculated.
10 September 25
Transposition status of key EU environmental directives
Our new benchmark contains summary information on the transposition status of six key EU environmental directives.