MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (‘ITRE’) discussed, on Wednesday 25 October, the report by Pablo Arias Echeverría (EPP, Spanish) on virtual worlds. Several avenues are being explored to reach an agreement on the text, with the vote on the report scheduled for the next meeting of the ITRE Committee on 27 and 28 November.
“We have worked together to be at the forefront. There were 132 amendments, from which 23 compromises emerged, including the main messages and interests of each political group. There is convergence between the groups on the text”, stated the Spanish rapporteur.
The draft report focuses on interoperability between services, particularly for businesses - a priority for the right-wing groups - and on preventing the major platforms from regulating themselves. Enough to satisfy the demands of the left-wing groups. “Interoperability is a real challenge, not all the compromises have been closed, but we are on the right track”, commented Francisco Guerreiro (Greens/EFA, Portuguese).
In addition, a number of MEPs insisted on the need to continue discussions on the most vulnerable categories of people, such as young people. “The issue of definitions is a pillar for us”, said Mr Arias Echeverria. For some groups, such as The Left, the notion of age should be included in the report. “I would have loved that, but there is no consensus”, conceded Anne-Sophie Pelletier (The Left, French).
As well as analysing the capacity needed in terms of network infrastructure, some MEPs, like Vlad Botoș, also called for studies to be carried out on virtual worlds, new digital products and their impact on health and the economy.
For others, such as Maria Manuel Leitão Marques, an “appropriate” assessment should be carried out by the Commission to analyse “the coverage of virtual worlds by existing legislation” in order to ensure that the legislative framework is “adequate and coherent”.
“Various pieces of legislation such as the DSA (see EUROPE 13277/18) or the DMA (see EUROPE 13267/10), other texts do not make our task any easier: we have to avoid overlapping. We must take care of this”, added Carlo Fidanza (ECR, Italian). (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)