Activities of Maria-Manuel LEITÃO-MARQUES related to 2022/2198(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on virtual worlds – opportunities, risks and policy implications for the single market
Amendments (24)
Amendment 3 #
B. whereas digitalisation brings with it a wealth of opportunities in fields such as medicine, culture, security, or education, and law enforcement, and has enormous potentialhas potential to contribute to solveing global problems related to poverty and inequality; whereas it also offers new possibilities to advance the transition process towards more sustainable and just societies, if guided in the right direction by appropriate policies;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the digital transformation also entails significant challenges that will force us to review many of the concepts and norms that have hitherto underpinned our growtheconomic and social progress;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas in the EU, awareness of the potential of emerging technologies and of the challenges posed by the accumulation of power by foreign digital giants and of the EU lagging behind in the global digital race have been translated into political and legislative willhas triggered EU political and legislative action, for instance by setting global regulatory standards or reducing dependencies in critical, strategic areas; whereas the EU institutions have made the digital transition one of their priority areas of action and policy formulation, establishing rules in line with European values and, principles and moving away from the path followed by other geographical areas such as the United States and China, among othfundamental rights, and ensuring strategic autonomy and independence from other global powers;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the transition to Web 4.0 and the development of virtual worlds are an indispensable part of the future of digitisation and a key building block for the completion of the digital single market;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas virtual worlds also entail significant risks affecting consumer protection and issues related to competition law, content moderation, intellectual property, privacy and personal data protection, and cybersecurity;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas broad-scale adoption of online virtual worlds would significantly increase power needs of data centres, and such increased electricity consumption could endanger the sustainable transition;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Points to the lack of a universally recognised or agreed definition of virtual worlds and considers that further work is needed in order to rectify thisWelcomes the definition of virtual worlds by the Commission, aligned with broadly agreed-upon characteristics such as immersivity, synchronicity and persistence; recognizes the advantages of having an internationally accepted definition of virtual worlds and other key concepts in this field and calls on the Commission to support this effort in international fora;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the latest regulatory developments in this regard, such as the Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/20651 ) and the Digital Markets Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/19252 ); notes also the proposal for an artificial intelligence act and the ongoing negotiations thereon; is concerned about the lack of references to concrete regulatory gaps in the Commission communication, and calls on the Commission to conduct further work on such assessments; considers that the Commission should conduct regular regulatory fitness checks of the digital single market and, where necessary, put forward legislative proposals; believes that the outcome of such checks should be made public; _________________ 1 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act), OJ L 277, 27.10.2022, p. 1. 2 Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2022 on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector and amending Directives (EU) 2019/1937 and (EU) 2020/1828 (Digital Markets Act), OJ L 265, 12.10.2022, p. 1.
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the Commission’s commitment to monitor the development of virtual worlds; invites the Commission to draft a report on this subject every two years and to transmit it to Parliament and the Council; asks the Commission to pay attention to the potential emergence of problems in the Web 4.0 that already exist in the Web 3.0, such as the proliferation of fake news, infringement of intellectual property rights, cyberterrorism, sexual abuseviolations of fundamental rights, the proliferation of disinformation, child sexual abuse material and hate speech, infringement of intellectual property rights, cyberterrorism, cyberviolence and bullying against women and minors, discrimination of minorities and cyberbullyingvulnerable populations, among others;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Points to the great economic growth potential of virtual worlds, and the growing levels ofneeds for investment in the necessary infrastructure and in related research, innovation and new technologiesre- and up-skilling; highlights the role of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (XR) as crucial technologies for the development and growth of virtual worlds, providing users with immersive and interactive experiences;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Signals also the potential positive impact that these developments willmay have on employment, including the creation of new jobs in domains such as virtual world architecture or content creation; highlights the importance of promoting the development of appropriate skills to ensure the supply of talented and skilled workers fit for these jobs in the EU, as well as of creating appealing conditions to keep EU talent, attract foreign talent and promote entrepreneurship and innovation in the territory of the EU;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Recalls that most companies leading the development of virtual worlds are established outside the EU; considers that the EU should take the lead in shaping virtual worlds as ecosystems in which European values and principles are respected and promoted, with users at their centre and ensuring full respect for fundamental rights, as well as the highest level of consumer protection; signals the importance of fostering the creation of a level playing field that promotes the expansion of European small and medium- sized enterprises, innovation and growth;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Acknowledges that multiple virtual worlds have been developed by different undertakings in the absence of open standards and interoperable platforms; notes the risks for consumers of allowing big players to define technical standards and protocols in their own interest and against the interests of consumers and society at large; considers that interoperability and open standards can contribute to the prevention of quasi- monopolies or abuses of dominant position to the detriment of consumers; welcomes the Commission’s commitment to engage with existing multi-stakeholder internet governance institutions to develop common governance standards; calls for the inclusion of consumer and other civil society organisations in all stakeholder engagement actions; supports the establishment of a technical multi- stakeholder forum for the development of technical standards to ensure interoperable virtual worlds; highlights the potential represented by the creation of European Data Spaces for the development of virtual worlds; calls on the Commission to assess the preparedness of the European Interoperability Framework to give public services the tools to take advantage of the potential of virtual worlds;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses the need to ensure that virtual worlds are open and accessible, contributing to the greater participation of people with disabilities in the digital transition; signalswarns of the potential of virtual worlds to increase the participation of people with disabilities in different activities such as virtual tourism, which offer the possibility of visiting virtual places without having to overcome the mobility barriers that traditchallenges that users with disabilities will face in interacting with virtual worlds, arising from inadequate accessibility features or designs that do not cater to their specific needs; calls on the Commissional tourism requires; warns of the potential challenges that users with disabilities may face in interacting with virtual worlds, arising from inadequate accessibility features or designs that do not cater to their specific nee monitor the fitness of the European Accessibility Act and Web Accessibility Directive in ensuring accessibility in virtual worlds;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Believes that the debate over the need for the identification of users in virtual worlds should be a priority area in the development process of virtual worlds and that there should be a profound reflection on the possible configuration of this digital reality, bearing in mind that, in some cases, anonymity may be preferable; points out that anonymity in the digital world is always possible under a username (alias), behind which there must always be an individual identifiable only by the competent authorities in case of need; calls on the Commission to assess the potential of the use of the European Digital Identity (eID) and wallet in virtual worlds;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Reiterates the importance of protecting users’ personal data and privacy; points out that the General Data Protection Regulation3 might not be enough to address the challenges posed to data protection in virtual worlds; calls for greater attention to be paid to the data protection implications of user-generated contentimmersivity, such as the integration of access points with content of services and considerable reduction of users' capacity to avoid collection of personal data; _________________ 3 Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation), OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1.
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Warns about the negative consequences of addictive design and dark patterns in virtual worlds; highlights that potential health problems that may arise from accessing virtual worlds, such as addiction, cybersickness or disturbances in sleep patterns, especially among minors and young people;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Highlights the potential of virtual worlds in indutrial and professional settings, in particular for training and prototyping; recalls that devices generate a range of physiological data about employees based on their participation in virtual worlds, which may lead to new forms of workplace surveillance; stresses the need to ensure compliance with labour rights and a high level of protection of workers;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Recalls the potential of virtual worlds to offer unique experiences that can help minors develop their appetite for learning through, for example, learning through play, which can help them to develop skills in collaboration, communication, critical thinking, innovation and confidence; underlinstresses the importance of protecting minors inextending the highest level of protection afforded to minors in other offline and online environments to virtual worlds, especially againstregarding abuse, harassment and bullying;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls on the Commission to conduct an assessment of how to ensure that the infrastructure needed is delivered to consumers; highlights that a true single market for telecoms is key in this regardand devices needed to access virtual worlds are available in an affordable way to all consumers, including in remote areas and lower income households;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Notes that electricity consumption by large data centres currently accounts for 1-1.5% of global electricity use according to the International Energy Agency1a, points out that data centre electricity consumption is likely to surge in case of large-scale adoption of virtual world technologies and the danger that increased electricity use has on realising the green transition; _________________ 1a https://www.iea.org/energy- system/buildings/data-centres-and-data- transmission-networks
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Is convinced thatNotes the potential for virtual worlds canto make a positive contribution to the fight against climate change and for environmental sustainability, for example by facilitating remote working, thereby reducing commuting and associated carbon emissions;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Recalls the need to take advantage ofuse and accelerate technological advances to reduce the energy consumption and environmental footprint of the activities related to the production, use and development of virtual worlds, such as advanced recycling techniques and renewable energies;