Unveiling proposal plans to create a ‘Digital Identity System’ for the metaverse and Web 3.0, Beijing is copying Shanghai’s pathway into the immersive virtual worlds.
China is exploring the metaverse opportunity despite being a very cautious nation when it comes to embracing advanced, modern technologies which can threaten privacy and protection over data.
By constructing a regulatory framework around the metaverse venture, key targets up until 2026 have been planned for a significant development of virtual reality.
The Virtual Reality Development action plan, while omitting direct reference to the metaverse, was released in November 2022 explaining how the applications used within industries and to build the metaverse are a frontier of the digital economy. The policy was considered the first-national level
A digital identity system would control the anonymity of users in the endless virtual web-face of the metaverse and refrain China from allowing unregulated use of the metaverse. The digital identity would identify “natural” and “social” characteristics and identifiers such as someone’s occupation.
The discussion of proposals is happening between tech experts at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN telecoms agency that will conduct a review of the draft regulation led by telecoms operator China Mobile and decide whether the Chinese states seeks to control state-owned use of technologies.
Consumer behaviour towards the metaverse however is in awe of exploring the immersive and imaginative interaction within virtual worlds. 78% of Chinese citizens are interested in the metaverse compared with 57% in the United States and 47% in the United Kingdom.
Shanghai, Hefei and Wuhan included the agenda for VR and the metaverse in government reports in 2022.