Vestager says he’s not concerned about the Metaverse, not thinking about regulation yet

BRUSSELS: The Metaverse, a shared virtual world accessible via the internet, has so far not raised any concerns or the need for legislation to curb it, EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said Thursday. rice field.

Vestager said the effort she plans to present at the Metaverse next week aims to help competition regulators understand what’s going on in the industry.

Facebook owners Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Apple are working to develop metaverse products and services, raising concerns that these companies will dominate the space.

Vestager said there were no competitive concerns.

“In fact, we see a lot of innovation happening when it comes to virtual worlds. I don’t think any company can claim to own virtual worlds, so to speak, but that’s what we want to know. ‘, she said. She told reporters on the sidelines of the press conference.

He said many of the laws adopted to regulate big tech over the past five years, from privacy to market power to upcoming artificial intelligence rules, are also applicable to the Metaverse.

“Europe now has a set of digital laws in place. I think it’s time to think about it, to know that we shouldn’t jump to regulation as a first line of defense,” Vestager said.

“We really need to be careful because it will require a lot of work to implement, not only for the European Commission, but also for the Member States.”