UK lawmakers propose metaverse-specific online safety bill

Members of the House of Lords are of the opinion that activities taking place in the metaverse need to be included into any law that is written in the United Kingdom with the goal of regulating certain internet services.

On the 12th of July, members of the upper house of the British Parliament debated the question of whether or not the Online Safety Bill would include "certain harmful content users may encounter in services, for example in the metaverse". The debate took place in the course of a sitting of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Several members of the legislative branch conducted research on the ways in which laws may address the ghastly stuff that children could find online. Illora Finlay, a lawmaker from Llandaff in Wales, was quoted as saying "whether there is a gap between provider-generated content and user-generated content and whether provider-generated content could lead to a whole lot of ghastly stuff on the metaverse without any way of tackling it because it is deemed to have fallen outside the scope of the Bill."

The fact that the regulation would be applicable to anything communicated by means of an internet service constituted the central tenet of the argument that was offered by a number of members of the United Kingdom Parliament.

Stephen Parkinson, a user from Whitley Bay, England, suggested that this scope may include not just the text and photographs given by other users, but also any virtual things or avatars that they create. He made this suggestion in response to another user's suggestion that this scope may not include virtual goods or avatars.

On July 17, it is anticipated that members of the House of Lords will resume their discussion of the United Kingdom Online Safety Bill.

A final reading in the House of Representatives is required to take place before the bill can be voted on to become a law and before any modifications can be made to the text.