What are the implications of the EU’s recent announcement for the metaverse?

We assess the European Union’s recent announcement explaining their stance and approach with regards to future technologies and the metaverse.

21 September 2022
Hadean Team

The EU recently released their State of the Union letter of intent, where there was significant focus on the metaverse and the three areas in which the union is looking to nurture the potential that digital worlds have to offer: people, technologies and infrastructure.

The key takeaways from the letter, some of which echoed Hadean’s own standpoint when it comes to how we envision the metaverse being utilised, are as follows: 

  1. People should feel as safe in virtual worlds as they do in the real one. 

As more and more people begin to interact in virtual spaces, and activities become more amplified, it will be important for them to enjoy a sense of security as they engage within these digital worlds just as much as they would in the real one. The establishment of a set of universal rules and values right from the very beginning would ensure a safeguard for all. 

 This could potentially help to encourage increased adoption and reduce the risk of a lawless, frontier period. Improved cybersecurity will also have a key role to play when it comes to protecting users’ digital profiles and avatars, this is especially salient when one considers how the same avatars will be carrying personal information across different metaverse spaces. Hadean’s Platform with its built-in resilient configuration offers the implementation of robust security measures, keeping users and their data safe right from the outset.   

  1. Private metaverses should develop based on interoperable standards.

Any build out of individual metaverses would require a connection to the rest of the metaverse, similar to how putting a website on the internet provides visitors with access to services and information. This interoperability would also mean that no single entity could have control of what should be public spaces, and neither would they have the authority to determine its terms and conditions of use. In this way creators and technologies can enjoy freedom to develop without hindrance or undue restrictions.

What’s critical to hold on to here is the recognition of how important a role interoperability will play in the creation of a truly open, safe and thriving metaverse. The virtual worlds that are currently available are small scale, restrictive and siloed meaning that users have to abide by whatever rules are set by the operators. For us at Hadean, we believe that a robust and open metaverse is the way forward in order to provide creators with the opportunity to craft their experiences at scale.

The Metaverse Standards Forum is a cooperative that brings together different standards organisations and businesses to advocate interoperability as best practice in order to create an open and inclusive metaverse.  They work to develop initiatives that align well with the EU’s vision. As a member organisation of the Forum, Hadean is actively working with fellow industry leaders to promote these standards.

  1. The mastering of requisite technologies is what will help to shape the metaverse. 

A fact we know only too well as a deep tech company building out the infrastructure to support creators and enterprises as they make the shift or seek to grow within the metaverse. Hadean is already providing unprecedented technologies to meet and supersede the challenges that come with managing the demands of scalable virtual worlds. Our Hadean Platform enables the deployment of Web 3.0 distributed applications with a simple and, more critically, secure process.

  1. In the new virtual spaces, the amount of data being exchanged – and harvested – through these technologies will be of greater magnitude than ever.

This is absolutely correct and we have already seen the issues that have cropped up as a result of this increase in the volume of data being trafficked in instances such as virtual events like the Foo Fighters Superbowl concert, with platforms experiencing latency issues or just outright crashing due to an inability to cope with the magnitude. The smoothest experiences in the metaverse will require a considerable amount of data exchange as smart devices and wearables communicate back and forth with applications to create fully fleshed out landscapes, including provision for an unrestricted amount of participants. Whilst edge computing can offer a solution to latency issues, it too will require a support framework. The Hadean Connect networking solution has the power to bring together and manage users of up to hundreds of thousands from varying locations whilst maintaining low latency resulting in a seamless experience for all. 

It is heartening to see that the EU is encouraging its member states to embrace the benefits that the metaverse will bring and is working on setting up the digital framework. 

If your own organisation is also at a point in which you are ready to take the leap into Web 3.0 or you are in the exploration phase, why not get in touch with us? Our combined expertise as well as unparalleled technology will guide you successfully towards the next steps. 

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