“The Metaverse” and “Web3” are the buzzwords of the moment, with their concepts permeating across the worlds of fintech, blockchain, and now even mainstream media. With decentralization thought to be at the core of the Web3 Metaverse, the promise of a better user experience, security and control for consumers is what’s driving its growth. But with users’ identities at the heart of the Metaverse, coupled with unprecedented amounts of data online, there are concerns over data security, privacy and interoperability. This has the potential to hinder the development of the Metaverse, but both regulated and self-sovereign identities could play an important role in ensuring that we truly own our identity and data within this new space.
Related: Digital sovereignty: Reclaiming your private data in Web3
What is the Metaverse?
Although the concept of the Metaverse has been around for a while, it was recently brought into the spotlight when Mark Zuckerberg chose to rename his company “Meta” (to the annoyance of many in the blockchain community!). With the digitalization of many aspects of our lives already underway, many argue that the Metaverse will touch everyone’s future, and it’s set to significantly change the way we interact with technology.
It’s widely contested as to what the Metaverse will look like and consist of, but it’s thought to be a catch-all for many interpretations in which the Metaverse will replicate the physical world in a digital context and enable similar interactions to what we experience in our day-to-day lives. In theory, it will encompass augmented reality, the digital economy and Web3.
Related: How NFTs, DeFi and Web 3.0 are intertwined
Inclusion and identity
The Metaverse presents an infinite number of opportunities for people and businesses from various sectors and differing needs. It was recently stated that one of the biggest changes within the Metaverse would be inclusion, meaning anyone with access to the internet will be able to utilize its benefits. This includes the 1 billion people worldwide who are currently unbanked finally being able to access the global economy via the Metaverse.
Notably, digital identities will lie at the core of the Metaverse, ranging from a digital avatar to customize using augmented reality to the ability to automatically book a restaurant online. It will give people of all genders, ages and backgrounds the chance to express themselves in new ways and will allow for new types of interactions and communities to form online. In this regard, some argue that it’s thought to be a safer space for any person to thrive in compared to the real world. However, with more data than ever being stored online comes concerns over trust and its privacy.
Related: The creator economy will explode in the Metaverse, but not under Big Tech’s regime
The decentralization of power and control
Blockchain technology using a decentralized model will underpin Web3 and the Metaverse, which is predicted to offer new levels of openness. Web2 tends to be thought of as a few centralized tech companies that harvest users’ data, and this practice has received criticism due to surveillance and exploitative advertising. In contrast, Web3 will be the opposite, which will empower all those involved, with users owning their digital assets, personal data and identity.
However, with such a huge number of players involved in creating and maintaining the Metaverse, ranging from those building the underpinning technologies to NFT creators and virtual reality and augmented reality producers, as well as the vast amount of sensitive information online, there are concerns as to whether users will actually have full control over their credentials. We’ve already seen the potential for damage through Facebook’s data breach a few years ago, and Cointelegraph recently highlighted a Facebook whistle-blower who has already raised concerns about the privacy of users’ information shared with Meta in the…
Read More: cointelegraph.com