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China may be pumped about the metaverse, but users should expect strong rules from regulators banning certain content, issuing warnings, and imposing high fines when companies go astray.
The metaverse is a network of 3D virtual worlds that make social connections. It is often described as a hypothetical iteration of the Internet as a single, universal virtual world facilitated by the use of augmented reality headsets.
Barons reported China’s internet is more like an intranet because unlike other countries, the People’s Republic’s version is so censored that it resembles a separate network of sites, apps and FinTech offerings. It is strictly monitored by technology and an army of thousands of what it calls human sanitizers.
The metaverse is viewed as a virtual world where the internet makes a path between cutting edge interactive and computer-generated experiences. It emerged with such promise and the potential for profits that Facebook changed its name to Meta Platforms.
Goldman Sachs estimated the metaverse could be worth $8 billion globally. But last month, Morgan Stanley upped the stakes when it predicted China’s metaverse sector would be worth that much by itself.
The Bank of China’s securities arm recently published a report that said the metaverse is a “potential path to common prosperity, and the evolution of the metaverse-related organizational route cannot be separated from the top of the government.”
It didn’t take long for the Chinese government to put the metaverse on notice. Last month, it issued a warning against various frauds associated with the metaverse.
Read more: China Warns About Frauds in the Metaverse
A notice by the Chinese Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission listed four methods used to scammers acting as metaverse developers.
The most common scam, it said, is enticing investors with promises of integrating artificial intelligence and virtual reality, with the thieves vanishing after they get the capital.
