Recommendations for metaverse governance based on technical standards

Abstract

Technical standards in digital technology can now be utilised to gather numerous digital sub-universes into the metaverse. However, how to create and implement guidance for the metaverse based on technical standards remains unexplored. This study investigated the theoretical framework and policy implications for future technical standards-based metaverse governance (TS-MG). The methodology entailed reviewing the available metaverse governance literature to establish both theoretical and case analyses of practices based on the economics of standards and the theory of networks. This study found that TS-MG encompasses the formulation, security, and compatibility of technical standards. TS-MG should enable the first-mover advantage of standards formulation for standard-setting organisations. It also includes phased governance policies that balance the compatibility and security of standards in the initial, growth, and mature stages of the metaverse. This study highlights the necessity of cooperation among governments, standard-setting organisations, and enterprises to (1) accelerate the development of systemised standards and (2) promote the effective supply of metaverse standards.

Redefining Boundaries in the Metaverse: Navigating the Challenges of Virtual Harm and User Safety

“…Drawing on interdisciplinary research into the ethical, psychological, and safety implications of virtual interactions, this study seeks to find a balance among user rights, platform accountability, and the demands of technological advancement. It also considers how cyberlaw precedents addressing issues like cyberbullying and cyberstalking could influence Metaverse-specific regulations (L. Yang 2023). A comprehensive framework, informed by comparative legal analysis and multidisciplinary insights, was developed to address the unique challenges of sexual violence in virtual environments.…”

Metaverse cannot be an extra marketing immersive tool to increase sales in tourism cities

“…However, the implementation of the metaverse involves different governance modes. Technical standards in governance need to distinguish various stakeholders, such as government departments, industrial alliances, enterprises and consumers (Yang, 2023). Chen, Gun, Wu, Lin, & Chen (2024) suggested that the combination between the metaverse and smart cities can improve the quality of life of citizens and enable more efficient governance and management systems.…”

Navigating the metaverse: A technical review of emerging virtual worlds

“…Researchers in Bai et al (2023), Bale et al (2022), Barta et al (2023), Bibri and Allam (2022), Brown et al (2020), Brusamento et al (2019), Buck and McDonnell (2022), Chávez et al (2020), Chen et al (2020), Clus et al (2018), Di Pietro and Cresci (2021), Dube and İnce (2019), Dyer et al (2022), Falchuk et al (2018), Far and Rad (2022), Gannotta et al (2018), Hine (2023), Hyun (2021), Jeon and Jung (2021), Kaddoura and Al Husseiny (2023), Kim et al (2022), Kyaw et al (2019), Lin et al (2022), Liu, Rui, et al (2021), López‐Ojeda and Hurley (2023), Mystakidis (2022), Na et al (2022), Rejeb et al (2023), Said (2023), Satava and Jones (2003), Soriani and Bonafede (2023), Vladimirov et al (2022), Wang et al (2022), Yang (2023), Yang et al (2022), and Zhao et al (2022) discussed advantages, disadvantages, potential threats, ethical consideration, security, privacy, technologies, and future directions of the “metaverse”. Some researchers covered the metaverse subject of the most modern technologies.…”

“…Governments can now organize virtual town hall meetings and solicit public feedback on policy because of the metaverse, which creates new avenues for citizen interaction. Studies in Barta et al (2023), Bibri and Allam (2022), Lombart et al (2020), Peukert et al (2019), Pizzi et al (2019), Van Kerrebroeck et al (2017), and Yang (2023) engaged with business, governance, and city services‐related research.…”

“…The “ horizontal information platform ” for data‐driven smart cities is connected with most technologies underlying the metaverse ecosystem application. Researchers in Bibri and Allam (2022), Deveci et al (2023), and Yang (2023) engaged in metaverse governance and city services‐based implementations and proposals. The metaverse was examined and questioned by Bibri and Allam (2022) via the lens of surveillance capitalism's social and economic logic, concentrating on how and why the post‐pandemic control of urban life is inevitably undemocratic and immoral.…”