My personal knowledge of the Metaverse comes mainly from my research during my Advanced Writing Requirement. I “fell down the rabbit hole” and learned more than I ever wanted to about the Metaverse and Non-Fungible Tokens (“NFTs”). If anything, at the end of my research, I was left with more questions than I had answers. Which is to be expected as unusual and unique as the Metaverse. Even now, it’s an anomaly. Something we haven’t seen outside of science fiction and something we are still trying to get a decent grasp of.
Until we figure out what we want Metaverse to be and how to regulate it, we are going to be left wondering; Is the Metaverse truly going to be the way of the future, or is it just another overhyped flash in the pan meant to stay firmly in the realm of science fiction? In its current form, it leans more towards the latter. Call me a pessimist, but I do not believe that the Metaverse will become what people say it will. I do not believe that the Metaverse will become a fully immersive, fully realized, and well-functioning aspect of our daily life in the near future. Not without extensive research, immense barriers to protect our data and privacy from those who may be able to “hack the system,” and more than anything, a considerable level of review of the laws we already have in place and how they will be converted in the Metaverse.
As a lawmaker, my biggest concerns with the Metaverse are: (1) how do we competently protect the rights and privacy of Americans as they use the Multiverse and (2) how can we stop it from becoming the “Wild West” where there are no rules and anything goes? There are numerous different areas of the law at play when talking about the Metaverse, including Privacy Law; Criminal Law; and especially Intellectual Property. I believe a good amount of current laws may be easily transfered to the Metaverse; however, in my opinion, the world of IP will need a well-deserved overhaul of current trademark and copyright law. Unfortunately, as we all know, the law (especially Intellectual Property) takes a while to catch up to current trends, and it is already behind when it comes to the current rendition of the Metaverse. Luckily, I don’t believe it is too far ahead that the law can never catch up. Therefore, I believe this is the perfect time for lawmakers and law enforcement to start educating themselves on the Metaverse before it gets out of hand and starts to evolve even faster.
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