The adoption of the metaverse has introduced many concerns—from online harm to data privacy—that are likely to be magnified as its popularity increases. To fulfill their responsibility, it is key that companies identify technical and social risks to include them in enterprise risk management. digital governance — a key trust enabler—will become increasingly important.
Organizations operating and building communities within the metaverse will need to think about how they can ensure the safety of these types of experiences. This will be particularly significant in cases involving users who are more likely to experience harm online, including children, women, racial minorities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Taking a balanced view of risks and opportunities, I present three key actions companies can take today to unlock new sources of value creation in the metaverse.
1. See beyond fashion
Despite the growing interest, specialists remain quite skeptical about whether it will be possible to create a robust system of communities in the metaverse and how they would benefit society. To take a critical approach and define its applicability within the organization, business leaders must ask themselves if they are committed to the metaverse because of their status as a buzzword or if it represents a specific benefit that would allow long-term value creation without compromising its fundamental principles.
2. Monitor for Purpose
Oversight is necessary if the metaverse is critical to achieving strategic objectives; For example, in the industry gaming it can be essential for the catalog of products, services and the business model, making close supervision essential. However, if you are only an assistant to the business for purposes of marketing, the focus areas may be different and the effort may not be worth it. On the other hand, when investments in the metaverse could threaten a company’s reputation or legal standing, more substantial oversight is required.
3. Understand ethical regulations and standards
Because activities in the metaverse depend on the use of digital currencies and other assets such as non-fungible tokens, the transactions could trigger the involvement of financial regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the USA; and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK. Similarly, privacy regulators may share jurisdiction over activities in the metaverse.