Every dramatically new technology, from cryptocurrency to drones to artificial intelligence, poses a regulatory challenge. Governments must decide how to characterize technology within existing laws, how those existing laws apply, and to what extent new technology requires new legal restrictions. Governments can take action in a variety of ways: through new legislation, by revising regulations and other policies under existing law, or through litigation. Many national governments and international organizations are having exactly this conversation about the metaverse, with potentially significant ramifications for metaverse companies, their business partners, and end users.

EU

On September 14, 2022, Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the Internal Market of the European Union, published “People,…