The European Commission is worried about the potential dominance of big tech firms in the metaverse market, which may overshadow European startups.
To address this, the Commission recently released a consultation paper outlining the benefits of the Metaverse and its potential to create new business opportunities and attract customers.
However, the Commission also expressed concerns that large players such as Meta Platforms may restrict access to European small and medium-sized enterprises in this nascent market, making it challenging for them to compete with technological giants.
The dominance of big tech firms in the metaverse market also raises concerns about privacy and the protection of user data.
As people interact more in the virtual environment, more data collected by companies is generated, increasing the risk of this information being used for personalized advertising and even manipulation of consumer behavior.
Therefore, in the coming months, the EU will create a new policy promoting competition and innovation, including measures to support small and medium-sized businesses in the metaverse market, improve user data protection and privacy, and prevent monopolies.
Public consultations for this policy will run until May 3. In a related development, last month, US lawmakers requested that Meta restrict access to Horizon Worlds metaverse for those under 17, as they believe virtual spaces may be harmful to minors’ mental health.