Content moderation in (decentralized) metaverses

This contribution provides an EU-based regulatory overview and a literature review on content moderation in the metaverse, with a focus on metaverses with decentralized architectures. Current enforced regulations on content moderation require hosting service providers to moderate and remove illegal contents upon knowledge of such content shared on the platform. However, content moderation in the metaverse raises challenges with regard to the typologies of illegal content potentially shared, to efficient content moderation processes and surveillance, and to the actual possibility of content moderation and removal in decentralized infrastructures. Given the lack of regulations specifically addressing content moderation in the metaverse, this article aims to contribute to the debate in the literature and discusses possible policy solutions and approaches.