Taking a “bordered approach” in regulating the metaverse will hurt interoperability and portability of experiences that transcend national boundaries and operate across jurisdictions, Meta has cautioned the Indian regulator that is looking at proactive regulation of the virtual digital world.
Responding to a consultation paper released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), the US social networking giant said the metaverse is subjected to international laws and standards and that India already has a solid legal framework that applies to internet technologies, such as the new Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, which may continue to apply to the metaverse.
“It is important to remember that the metaverse is not being built in a regulatory vacuum: in fact, as the next evolution of the internet, it is already subjected to the wide range of laws, norms, principles and standards that already regulate today’s internet and the technologies that power it,” the Facebook parent said in a written submission to Trai’s public consultation.
The metaverse should be interoperable for users to seamlessly navigate and travel between multiple online experiences, it said.
Onerous requirements for local storage of data may amplify challenges for startups building cross-border experience in a burgeoning sector such as the metaverse, it warned.
Instead, Indian policymakers should participate in international, multi-stakeholder efforts such as those by the Metaverse Standards Forum and the World Economic Forum to develop baseline technical standards, Meta said. Such initiatives are important to lower barriers to entry and facilitate market access by small firms and developers and enable them to compete globally in metaverse innovation, it said.Meta called upon Indian policymakers to address any emerging legislative gaps as the metaverse evolves “on a case-by-case basis, using evidence-based policy development”. “This could take the form of regulatory sandboxes with clear exit criteria that allow industry participants to offer products to limited numbers of consumers in a more controlled environment,” Meta said.Meta recommended policymakers to undertake public-private partnerships on regulatory sandboxes for XR (extended reality) that can help ascertain if existing regulations, standards, and policies are robust enough for new products based on XR technologies.
Further, Meta said, the government must enable Wi-Fi in the 6 GHz spectrum band to enable the most innovative AR/VR (augmented reality and virtual reality) experience and for the country to compete with other geographies in metaverse innovation.
“The 6 GHz band is important for next generation Wi-Fi operations. The 1,200 MHz of spectrum between 5,925 MHz and 7,125 MHz provides more and wider channels than the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands and will enable low latency, high throughput communication,” it said.
“Seven 160 MHz and three 320 MHz channels are critical for the metaverse, which often involve multiple users and densely populated networks,” it said.
