EU internet regulation to push Facebook to sanitise Metaverse platforms

Experts on Friday said that the EU's twin internet-regulation package will put further pressure on global social networks such as Meta (formerly Facebook) to better police their own platforms in the upcoming age of Metaverse.

The proposed DSA aims to keep users safe from illegal goods, content or services and protect their fundamental rights online, on the principle that what is illegal offline should also be illegal online.

"Whereas the internet grew up in a regulatory Wild West, future metaverse experiences for Europeans will need to be governed by the simple maxim that awhat's illegal offline will also be deemed illegal in the metaverse," said Emma Mohr-McClune, technology service director at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

"Taken as a whole, the DMA and DSA will usher in an era of faster EU regulatory action, and larger fines for violators; potentially up to 10 per cent of global turnover," she said in a statement.

The rules set out under the DSA are designed to expand and clarify a common set of responsibilities for online businesses providing services in the EU from anywhere in the world.

The proposal defines clear responsibilities and accountability for providers of intermediary services, such as social media and online marketplaces.

Once adopted, the DSA will provide a modern, future-proof governance framework and set out clear due-diligence obligations for online intermediary services.

"The Digital Services Act is a big and necessary step forward in the creation of a safer online environment. It provides solutions for the safety of our citizens in the 21st century, for our businesses and for our democracies," Slovenian Minister for Digital Transformation Mark Boris Andrijanic said.

According to Mohr-McClune, the DMA defining larger digital platforms and service providers as 'gatekeepers' of online content -- as opposed to the long-disputed 'content providers' role -- will put further pressure on global social networks such as Meta (formerly known as Facebook) to better police their own platforms.

"The granularity of societal and economic responsibilities implied within 'gatekeeper' creates an attractive regulatory template for other markets to consider replicating," she noted.