Margrethe Vestager, EVP at the European Commission (EC) reportedly opened the door to future regulatory action on the metaverse, but insisted the European Union (EU) must gain a better understanding of the concept before deciding on what action to take.

Reuters reported Vestager (pictured) outlined her views on the metaverse during a presentation at an online event organised by German newspaper publishers, where she indicated it was time to start analysing what role the EC would take in regulating the sector given companies were already investing in it.

However, she suggested it was too early to take definitive action, given the early stages of metaverse developments.

“Everything we do must be fact based and based on the information that we can get. We need to understand it before we can decide what actions would be appropriate,” said Vestager.

The idea of the metaverse, virtual environments where users can socialise, work and play through different devices, has been around for years, but it has gained sharper focus after Facebook rebranded to Meta Platforms, reflecting its commitment to the concept.

Vestager is no stranger to taking on the technology giant, haven come down hard on the company over its collection and use of data in Europe.

Meta Platforms already outlined plans to hire 10,000 people in the EU to develop the metaverse over the next five years.