What the numbers say: In an online survey conducted by Morning Consult, 14% of internet users in the U.S. indicated that government-enacted regulations were important in determining their usage of the metaverse. Additionally, 22% of respondents considered such regulations somewhat necessary, while 45% stated that they did not play a significant role in their decision to use the metaverse. Relevance: A majority of the voters in the U.S. would prefer the federal government to take the lead in establishing tech regulations. Bipartisan efforts to pass federal tech regulations have faced challenges, but state-level lawmakers have succeeded in enacting at least 28 laws since 2021, gaining bipartisan support in the absence of nationwide legislation, making tech regulation one of the few unifying topics across the political spectrum. Where to see the influence: A recent paper from the University of California Berkeley reveals that privacy may be impossible in the metaverse without innovative new safeguards to protect users. Margrethe Vestager, EU antitrust chief, highlights the importance of ensuring fair competition in the metaverse. Moreover, Meta was fined $1.3B for breaching EU data privacy rules, the EU's largest-ever fine against a tech company. |
