In this response to the EU Commission’s Call for Competiton in Virtual Worlds, we show that the market for Virtual Worlds is not very mature, but very dynamic. No single company currently dominates all necessary technological levels.
As far as possible business models are concerned, numerous new ones can be developed in the future. Therefore, innovation should not be hindered via premature regulation. Especially, we should pay attention to not regulate Virtual Worlds stricter than today’s internet and work with the regulatory framework at hand applicable on today’s internet. The existing European regulatory framework with the General Data Protection Regulation, Digital Services Act, Digital Markets Act, AI Act, Net Neutrality Regulation and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive is fit for purpose in virtual worlds, too. They are robust and future proof.
For Europe to be sovereign in Virtual Worlds, it must be involved in shaping them from the outset and also make up for the omissions in digitalisation that have been made in recent years. It must be in Europe’s interest to play an active role in developing Virtual Worlds through innovation partnerships and interoperability. The aim should therefore not be regulation, but active international cooperation for openness, standards and interoperability.
You can download Bitkom’s complete response to the call here.
