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#Tech, Media, Telecom

Defining Virtual Worlds: Main Features and Regulatory Challenges

  • July 5, 2023
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Download the issue paper here

As virtual worlds emerge as the next probable frontier for the internet, European policy makers are eager to take this opportunity to apply the lessons learnt from the last digital revolution and ensure that European values are the founding principles of these virtual spaces. As such, both the European Commission, with a non-legislative initiative, and the European Parliament, with two own-initiative reports, are exploring what possible opportunities and challenges virtual worlds will bring.

There is, however, an underlying uncertainty about the definitions. What are the virtual worlds’ common features and characteristics? How is the metaverse different from virtual worlds? How can we conceptualise something that will change remarkably as technology develops?

In this new CERRE Tech Media and Telecom issue paper, Fabiana Di Porto and Daniel Foa aim to clarify these concepts and arrive at a definition that is fit for policy makers to identify the most salient features of virtual worlds and the policy issues they might give rise to.

By confronting the definition advanced by the European Commission in its Call for evidence with those found in the literature, the authors propose a conceptualisation of virtual worlds based on its phases of development and a definition that captures both virtual worlds in their current state as well as their foreseeable features as technology develops. These features are: user experience, mass content creation, technologies and connectivity infrastructures, and governance. For each of these key features, the authors identify possible salient policy issues that might merit attention by policy makers.

The issue paper finalises by proposing the following recommendations:

  • Adopt a functional definition that focuses on the features of virtual worlds.
  • Consider all possible tools when assessing if and how to intervene, including incentives and industry-led technological tools.
  • Consider promoting standards, including through the definition of open standards.
  • Incentivise the development of environmentally sustainable technologies.

The analysis and recommendations of this issue paper will be further developed in the follow-up report that will be part of this CERRE ‘Emergence of Virtual Worlds’ project, which will be published in the Autumn.

Author(s)
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Fabiana Di Porto
Fabiana Di Porto
Associate Professor of Law and Technology
University of Salento

Fabiana Di Porto is an Associate Professor of Law and Technology at the University of Salento (Lecce, Italy), and a Adjunct Professor of Innovation law and Regulation at Luiss Guido Carli University (Rome, Italy). She holds a joint PhD in Law from the Université Robert Schuman of Strasburg and the University of Perugia, and an MSc in Regulation from the London School of Economics. She held visiting positions at the Robert Schuman Center for Research Studies of the European University Institute and at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2019/20), both as a Forchheimer Visiting Professor at the Law Faculty and associate at the Federmann Cyber Security Research Center.

Fabiana is the co-editor in chief of the peer-reviewed, A-rated Italian law journal “Concorrenza e mercato” (Competition and the market), and a member of two executive boards: the Academic Society for Competition Law (ASCOLA) and Braincircle Italy. Since 2019, she heads an interdisciplinary research group on Algorithmic Disclosure which explores the use of ML algorithms and NLP tools for regulatory purposes. She is a member of multiple scientific committees, the Global Pandemic Network and the Osservatorio AIR (Regulatory Impact Assessment), and coordinates projects on the use of AI in the judiciary (Lecce) and a multi-stakeholder study group on Metaverse.

She has over 80 articles, 3 books, 5 edited collections and a number of op-eds to her credit. She is a frequent speaker at international conferences and has been audited as a national expert before European and Italian institutions.

Fabiana Di Porto is an Associate Professor of Law and Technology at the University of Salento (Lecce, Italy), and a Adjunct Professor of Innovation law and Regulation at Luiss Guido Carli University (Rome, Italy). She holds a joint PhD in Law from the Université Robert Schuman of Strasburg and the University of Perugia, and an MSc in Regulation from the London School of Economics. She held visiting positions at the Robert Schuman Center for Research Studies of the European University Institute and at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2019/20), both as a Forchheimer Visiting Professor at the Law Faculty and associate at the Federmann Cyber Security Research Center.

Fabiana is the co-editor in chief of the peer-reviewed, A-rated Italian law journal “Concorrenza e mercato” (Competition and the market), and a member of two executive boards: the Academic Society for Competition Law (ASCOLA) and Braincircle Italy. Since 2019, she heads an interdisciplinary research group on Algorithmic Disclosure which explores the use of ML algorithms and NLP tools for regulatory purposes. She is a member of multiple scientific committees, the Global Pandemic Network and the Osservatorio AIR (Regulatory Impact Assessment), and coordinates projects on the use of AI in the judiciary (Lecce) and a multi-stakeholder study group on Metaverse.

She has over 80 articles, 3 books, 5 edited collections and a number of op-eds to her credit. She is a frequent speaker at international conferences and has been audited as a national expert before European and Italian institutions.

Daniel Foà
Daniel Foà
Research Fellow in Economic Law
Bocconi University

Daniel Foà is a Research Fellow in Economic Law at Bocconi University (Milan, Italy), and has a Ph.D. in Law and Business from LUISS Guido Carli. He was awarded the F. Bonelli Scholarship to attend the MSc in Law and Finance at the University of Oxford. Author of scientific contributions in Italian and English, he is a member of the following research centers: BILL-Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Law Lab (LUISS Guido Carli); Law and Technology (UniSalento), and the Young Researchers Group (European Banking Institute).

Daniel Foà is a Research Fellow in Economic Law at Bocconi University (Milan, Italy), and has a Ph.D. in Law and Business from LUISS Guido Carli. He was awarded the F. Bonelli Scholarship to attend the MSc in Law and Finance at the University of Oxford. Author of scientific contributions in Italian and English, he is a member of the following research centers: BILL-Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Law Lab (LUISS Guido Carli); Law and Technology (UniSalento), and the Young Researchers Group (European Banking Institute).

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