Given the regulatory battle to keep up with ever-evolving innovations, Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice President of the European Commission, advised getting ahead of the curve when brainstorming the implications of technologies like Metaverse and ChatGPT.
Vestager highlighted how the digital transition and shift to a digital economy brings risks and opportunities for the masses while speaking on competition policy at the Keystone Conference. She believes that the legislation is lagging behind technological progress, adding:
“We certainly haven’t been too quick to act – and this could be an important lesson for us going forward.”
While the enforcement and legislative process will lag behind technological innovations, Vestager stressed the need to anticipate and plan for such changes. She stated:
“For example, it’s already time for us to start asking what healthy competition should look like in the Metaverse, or how something like ChatGPT might change the equation.”
She also revealed that from May 2023, the European Commission would conduct antitrust investigations targeting the Facebook marketplace and how Meta is using ad-related data from rivals, among others.
Related: The Limitations of the EU’s New Cryptocurrency Regulations
The European Blockchain Regulatory Sandbox was launched on February 15, which will provide space for regulatory dialogue for 20 projects per year until 2026.
With our advisory branch OXYGY, we are announcing today together with the @EU_Commissionthat applications are now open for the first cohort of the European blockchain regulatory sandbox for blockchain/DLT innovators @EuropeanSandbox:#blockchain #sandbox https://t.co/ZNbjUCTubp pic.twitter.com/PtdS0oBS8p
— Bird & Bird (@twobirds) February 14, 2023
At the other end of the spectrum, European Union lawmakers are discussing the use of zero-knowledge proofs for digital IDs. Cointelegraph’s report on the matter highlighted:
“The new eID would allow citizens to identify and authenticate themselves online (via a European digital identity wallet) without having to rely on commercial providers, as is the case today – a practice that has created trust, security and privacy issues.”
Zero-knowledge proofs have recently been at the center of researchers’ attention as a potential means of ensuring regulatory compliance and privacy in digital currencies.