European Commission to ensure ‘healthy competition’ in the metaverse

Margrethe Vestager, the competition commissioner, stressed the need to anticipate and plan for changes in technological advancements.

Considering the regulatory struggle to keep up with ever-evolving innovations, Margrethe Vestager, the executive vice president of the European Commission for a Europe fit for the digital age, and commissioner for competition since 2014, recommended a headstart into brainstorming implications of technologies such as the metaverse and ChatGPT.

While speaking about competition policy at the Keystone Conference, Vestager highlighted how the digital transition and the shift to a digital economy had brought risks and opportunities for everyone. She believes that legislation lags behind technological advancements, adding:

“We have certainly not been too quick to act — and this can be an important lesson for us in the future.”

While the enforcement and legislative process will continue to stay a step behind tech innovations, Vestager stressed the need to anticipate and plan for such changes. She stated:

“For example, it is already time for us to start asking what healthy competition should look like in the metaverse or how something like ChatGPT may change the equation.”

The commissioner also revealed that the European Commission would enforce antitrust investigations from May 2023 aimed at the Facebook marketplace and how Meta uses ads-related data from rivals.

Related: The limitations of the EU’s new cryptocurrency regulations

Feb. 15 marked the launch of the European Blockchain Regulatory Sandbox, which provides a space for regulatory dialog for 20 projects per year through to2026.

With our consulting arm OXYGY, today we announce, together with the @EU_Commission, that applications are now open for the first cohort of the European blockchain regulatory sandbox for blockchain/DLT innovators @EuropeanSandbox:#blockchain #sandbox https://t.co/ZNbjUCTubp pic.twitter.com/PtdS0oBS8p

— Bird & Bird (@twobirds) February 14, 2023

On the other end of the spectrum, European Union lawmakers are in talks about using zero-knowledge proofs for digital IDs. Cointelegraph’s report on the matter highlighted:

“The new eID would allow citizens to identify and authenticate themselves online (via a European digital identity wallet) without having to resort to commercial providers, as is the case today - a practice that raised trust, security and privacy concerns.”

Zero-knowledge proofs have recently been at the center of researchers’ attention as a way to ensure regulatory compliance and privacy in digital currencies.